Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier
by Seiker the Abyssmal Zero
Summary: Five years after Sei and Reiji's victory at the World Tournament, Gunpla Battle has begun to take the world by storm. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in Strike City, USA, the Gunpla Hub of North America. One student at it's high school is particularly known for his incredible skills as a builder and fighter, but there's just one problem: He's not competitive. At all.
1. Prologue

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from GBF, nor anything related to Gundam at all.**

**Prologue**

Ever since Sei and Reiji's victory in the World Tournament, Gunpl Battle has begun to take the world by storm. Never before have there been so many participants and now, schools all over the world have been hosting their own tournaments for it, turning what was once a normal hobby turned small sport into a full-fledged international sport meant to reach all ages. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in Amercia, where it has begun to outclass even Japan in terms of number of Battlers.

At a certain school located in the Gunpla hub of America, Strike City, a certain boy known all over the city for his skill as both a builder and pilot resides there. Given the title of "Archangel" for his preference of winged, highly customized Gunpla, he is known as a force to be reckoned with… but there's one problem.

_This boy is not competitive in the slightest._

He never participates in tournaments, and he's not even a member of his high school's Gunpla team. He prefers to spend his time tweaking his Gunplas and participating in casual battles than actually competing in the district tournaments that eventually lead to state and even nation battles, the winning team of that getting to move on to the World Tournament.

His name is Azrael Venator, and this is his story, set five years after Sei and Reiji's victory. Now it is time for a new frontier in Gunpla Battle.


	2. Azrael

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 1: Azreal**

**Strike City**

Strike City, the central hub of all Gunpla related activity within the United States and North America, home to many young and old Gunpla Battlers. A sprawling metropolis going for miles, the massive city is home to many clubs, teams, and groups of avid Battlers, but one location stands out among the rest, and that is Strike City's central Gunpla Battle lounge, Strikecenter…

Inside the pyramid shaped building that was Strikecenter, a decent crowd was gathering in one of the battle lounges, made up of many students and a few adults, all watching the ongoing Gunpla Battle, all of them murmuring in excitement.

"Who's battling?"

"Idiot, look on the board! One of them is Archangel Azrael! He's taking on five guys at once look!"

"It's seriously him? But he almost never comes here from what I heard."

"What rock have you been under? It's tournaments he doesn't participate in. He's a regular here."

Inside the space field, five customized Zaku Gunplas were facing off against one insanely customized Freedom Gunpla with a black and red color scheme, both sides exchanging blasts in the space styled field they were fighting in, and the Freedom Gunpla clearly had the upper hand as it flew about, its ten wings leaving a trail of red light in its wake.

"Dang no wonder he's called Archangel! He's way to fast."

"Watch out for that Buster Rifle he's got! GWAGH!" One of the Zakus went down from a beam saber slash out of nowhere, the red blade glowing in the dark space.

"Don't spend so much talking and fight! You're making this too easy for me!"

The tone of the Freedom's controller wasn't mocking when they said that, the voice indicating a young man of at least sixteen or seventeen. Instead, the tone was friendly and playful, asking for a challenge from his four remaining opponents as he blasted off again.

"Fire Vulcans! Take him down with spread firing!"

"That's more like it! Now it's my turn! Buster Rifle ready! Targets, locked!" The Freedom stopped after dodging the volley rapidly as it took aim, the targeting system showing up on its view screen as the controller readied the blast.

"Get out of the way!"

"Move it!"

"You guys are going down either way! Fire!" A massive energy blast was released from the Buster Rifle, two of the Zakus receiving heavy damage from mistimed dodges. "I have to hand it to ya', you guys are persistent!"

"That's the trademark of Team Zaku Assault! We never give up until we can no longer fight!" All five of the team members yelled that even though one was out.

"Well, guess I gotta go all out then huh?"

"That's exactly what we've been waiting for."

"Alright, then, I accept your challenge!"

With that, the Freedom stored its Buster Rifle and pulled out both beam sabers.

"Let's go!" all five remaining combatants yelled as they charged with close range weapons ready. The fact being that the Freedom model was more nimble was accounting for a good deal as the two damaged Zakus finally went down after their axes were swatted aside.

"Amazing!"

"He took down four opponents by himself!"

"I guess they weren't lying about how good this guy was. Hard to believe he never fights in tournaments."

"Well then, two left. Now how will I deal with you guys?"

"Don't get so cocky!"

"Yeah we could still beat you! Attack!"

"Who said I was being cocky? Fire rail cannons!"

The two hip mounted rail cannons set into place and charged, letting two blasts loose that bisected the remaining Zakus.

"Game set and match."

"_Battle Ended"_

"Ah man we lost!"

"Our strategies never been beaten like that before!"

"I have to say that you guys put up a pretty good fight." the young man on the opposite end on the set up chuckled as he moved a pair of red goggles with black lenses up onto his unkmept snow white hair, revealing his shining navy blue eyes. The boy was well built for his age, if a little lean. With slightly above average looks. He was wearing a red and black plaid button down over a black t-shirt, jeans with a chain attached on the left side, opposite his Gunpla holder, and red sneakers, as well as a silver ring on each index and third finger, as well as black fingerless gloves.

"That fighting style of yours is pretty efficient. Tune up your Gunplas a bit more and you'll have an easier time against opponents who focus on speed and firepower like I do. Though I do hafta admit the Freedom Azrael is pretty souped up." His tone was uplifting, like a mentor giving advice to students in a supportive manner.

"Man, and here I thought you'd be ripping these weaklings a new one Azrael. When are you gonna cut with the nice guy act and act like a serious battler for once huh?" another boy's voice came from the crowd.

"What do you want now Jacob?" Azrael's tone shifted the second he heard that voice, going from kind and supportive to harsh and abrasive. "I'm not gonna have to thrash you again aren't I? It gets a little old after the twentieth challenge in a month."

"Ah c'mon! I still have to beat you! After all, you and I are rivals!" Jacob sauntered out of the crowd. His appearance suggested he wasn't much older than Azrael, and he wore a typical punk rocker outfit with a look to match, black hair, piercings and all, contrasting Azrael's more somewhat scene outfit and casual look.

"I never remember accepting you as a rival. In fact I never remember acknowledging _anything _much about you."

"Ha! Tell me that once you've actually won a tournament, oh, wait, you're too much of a coward to actually join one! HA!"

"No, I'm just not competitive like so many others." Azrael was keeping a calm tone the entire time. He'd dealt with Jacob for a good portion of his life, and the other teen never seemed to stop picking on him no matter what it was about. Not like Azrael cared, more like annoyed is what he felt all the time.

"Whatever! I'll get you this time! My Justice Rockout isn't going to lose this time!" Jacob opened his Gunpla holder, pulling out a black Justice model as he set himself up. "I've modified it since last time, so you better get ready to be thrashed!"

"Alright, but this is gonna mark twenty two, that's a new record." Azrael set his Freedom Azrael back in position as the field generated again, the desert this time. "Azrael Venator, Freedom Azrael. Let's go!" Azrael pulled down his goggles, a usual thing he did during Gunpla Battles.

"Jacob Marken. Justice Rockout! Let's roll!"

Both Gunpla blasted onto the field, beam sabers out and clashing within seconds of the match starting, and the crowd gasped as the melee went all over the place, both Gunpla blocking and exchanging blows as they flew around at high speeds.

"Haha! So what do ya' think now Azrael!? You won't get me so easily this time!"

"It's performance has increased, but there's one thing you keep forgetting: My Gunpla is still a bit better _and _I'm a much better pilot than you!" Azrael accented this by dodging the next flurry of slashes with ease, almost like he could see them coming before dashing back and taking off.

"You won't get away that easily! Fire beam rifle!" Jacob snarled as he opened fire with a burst of shots.

"Not to mention inferior weapons. Sure the performance is better but you didn't change your loadout to match. Fire Buster Rifle!"

"Not this time Azrael!"

The Justice Rockout took off just as the beam slammed into the ground where it had been, getting to level with the Freedom Azrael.

"Nice, you dodged it without being in a space environment. You really have improved." Azrael chuckled as he adjusted his goggles.

"You ain't seen nothing yet!"

"Actually, I've seen enough to be able to predict your movements now. It's done! Full Burst Mode!" The Freedom Azrael shot back a bit more, storing its beam saber, all its guns readying and charging.

"Woah! Wait! You never said you'd use that!"

"You never said I couldn't! Set some ground rules next time if you really want to challenge me! Cannons charged… FIRE ALL!"

"Not again!" Jacob yelled as the collective beam attack engulfed his Gunpla.

"_Battle Ended"_

"Every darn time… HOW DO YOU ALWAYS GET ME WITH THAT!?" Jacob growled as Azrael picked up his Gunpla and got ready to leave after removing his GP Base, his goggles back up.

"You fall for it every time because you gee cocky halfway through and don't see it coming. Work on that awareness of yours before fighting me again alright? See ya later!" Azrael's tone had gone back to its friendly sound as he left with a short wave, one hand in his left pocket.

"He seriously doesn't fight in tournaments?"

"And he's good enough to beat Jacob. That makes it even harder to believe."

"Shut up! I I'll get him next time! Oh I'll get him good! You hear me Azrael this isn't over!"

Azrael just chuckled at the uproar. It seemed to be a talent of his to cause those.

'Man these battles are just too easy… the only thing is… I'm not interested in tournaments. I'm fine with helping out the other fighters, but I still have that reputation as Strike Cities finest… what should I do?'

This was a normal thought for Azrael, a question he asked himself all the time. He wasn't a competitive person. It just wasn't in his nature. To him, it didn't matter that he was both a very talented builder and pilot, what mattered was the fact he had no motivation behind what he did. True he loved Gunpla and Gunpla Battle, but he felt his heart was just, lacking something crucial for him to be considered a true Gunpla Battler. He compared himself to an old grizzled war veteran turned drill sergeant, just not nearly as nasty.

'Whatever the reason… I hope I'll find it eventually, like my dad did before me.'

**Venator Gunpla Shop/Home**

"Mom I'm home!" Azrael called out as the door slid open, revealing the rows of Gunpla models that made up the family store, which oddly enough was in the suburbs instead of downtown.

"Ah Lieutenant Azrael has returned! How as today's combat?" the boys mother, Jesse, chuckled as she walked out from behind the counter, using the old family tradition of addressing each other by a rank assigned by position in the family, something Azraels father had come up with since, surprisingly, Jesse was just as much a Gunpla enthusiast as him.

"The combat at the battlefield went smoothly Commander! A total of fifteen enemy units were defeated by my Freedom Azrael today!" Azrael replied curtly, standing at mock attention, stating the number of other Gunpla's he's beaten out the Strikecenter.

"Good Lieutenant, the general will be glad to hear this! Now, I need to go and collect supplies for tonight's dinner! Hold down the fort!" Jesse commanded as she threw the shopkeepers apron at Azrael before walking out. "Have fun and don't get into any trouble!"

"I won't mom! Yeesh… every time." Azrael sighed as he went and took his usual spot behind the counter, taking out the Freedom Azrael and placing it down, staring at it intently. "Its performance is top notch as usual, and I have no trouble handling it… no repairs needed today. Heh, nice! Though maybe I should consider adding a shield… the extra defense would be helpful… agh... but I still need to finish my own original Gunpla… GGH WHICH ONE SHOULD I WORK ON!?" he yelled as he held his head in his hands.

The door slid open with a ding and Azrael quickly regained his composure as he heard the voice of a young boy aweing at what he saw.

"H-hello! Welcome to Venator Hobby Shop!"

"Ah thank you young man." The young boy's father regarded Azrael with a nod as his son began looking at the Gunpla models, all built by Azrael for display.

"Ohhh! Daddy what's this one?" the boy was pointing to a Destiny Gundam model.

"Ah you have good eyes kid! That's a ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam from the Gundam SEED era. It was commissioned by ZAFT and is by far its most advanced suit, though I personally prefer the Freedom model, although I ran some test runs with it and it doesn't preform too badly." Azrael had gotten a gleam in his eyes, as talking about stuff like this always got him going, but thankfully he knew when to hold back.

"You built that yourself? It's really well made. Did you do all of these?" the father asked.

"Ah it was nothing! These were just for display!" Azrael was feeling a little embarrassed now.

"Wow! It looks so cool! Daddy can I get that one?"

"Is that the one you want?"

"Uh huh!"

"Haha. Alright then just let me get one for ya."

'It's always nice to see kids like that. Ones so full of enthusiasm for stuff like this. Not that I'm any different.' Azrael thought as he fished through the shelves until he found what he was looking for.

"Ohhh! What's this Gunpla right here?" the boy was staring at the Freedom Azrael since it was still on the counter.

"Oh, this is one of my personal Gunpla, the Freedom Azrael. It's a modified version of the Freedom Gundam set to my own tastes and specs." Azrael ahd a hint of pride in his voice as he kneeled down to show the younger boy his creation.

"Oh wow that's so cool! I bet you're a great Gunpla Battler to huh?"

"Well I'm not one to brag but I am pretty good, though I never fight in the tournaments. They aren't really my thing."

"Hmm? Never fights in tournaments? You wouldn't happen to be Archangel Azrael!?" the father gasped.

"Heh heh… uh… yeah, though I don't see why I have that reputation. Like I said I don't do tournaments." Azrael had a sheepish look on his face as he stood up.

"Yeah because you can't just quit being casual! Never competitive in the slightest!" another teens vaice laughed as the boy ran in and put Azrael into a headlock. The other boy looked to be the same age as Azrael with ruby red eyes and dark black hair, and he was still wearing his typical white and blue tracksuit. "Good ol' Azrael has never been competitive a day in his life! He's as good as a World Tournament competitor but he just won't enter them!"

"Agh! Recon let go of me you jerk! A-anyway, have a good day!"

"By any chance, just to ask, could we watch you battle? My son is a big fan of Gunpla Battle, and he'd love it if he could see Archangel in flight!"

"Uh… well…"

"He accepts! I'll be your opponent of course!" Recon moved back and pulled out his Gunpla. "Say hello to the newly improved Akatsuki!"

This Akatsuki, as the name suggested, was of Recons own design, with more streamlined armor that was colored a weathered olive drab, fitting since Recon was from a military background.

"Hagh, guess there's no getting you to back down is there? Alright then! Let me just go grab a shield for mine!" Azrael was quick with his retrieval, coming back with a red and white shield from his own Wing Gundam. "Alright, just click it on here and… there! I'm set!"

"Alright! Now watch carefully little dude!" Recon was quick to move into the small battleroom and set himself up.

"Impatient as ever." Azrael placed his GP Base onto his port.

"_Beginning Plavsky Particle Dispersion… Field One: Space"_

"Alright, this is gonna be fun! An open meteor field! Ready Azrael?"

"Always!" Azrael pulled down his goggled once more, cracking his knuckles afterwards before placing his hands on the controls.

"Let's go!"

Both Gunpla shot out of their launch rails at full speed, the wings on the Freedom Azrael opening up.

"Buster Rifle set to base mode… shield holding… all good."

"Still running a mid-battle systems check. Heh, you sure haven't changed!" Recon opened fire with his beam rifle, and Azrael responded by blocking with his shield.

"And neither have you!" Azrael chuckled as he opened fire himself. The two began to follow their normal routine with their battles. Both new each other's fighting style's so well however, that it was practically a stalemate despite the gap between their skills.

"Two combatants who now each other's fighting styles…" Recon yelled, starting the normal phrase he and Azrael would say a lot.

"Can fight on equal terms no matter the difference between skill or quality!" Azrael finished the sentence as his Freedom Azrael discarded it's Buster Rifle and drew a beam saber, Recon's did the same by discarding its own beam rifle.

The sentence the two childhood friends yelled was punctuated by their Gunpla crossing blades.

"Wow! They're awesome!" the boy marveled from the other side of the glass.

"Heh, guess neither of us are gonna win this match." Recon chuckled as the Gunpla landed on the meteor surface.

"Not so fast. SEED mode activate!" Azrael chuckled, his Gunpla gleaning red lines across it's armor.

"I forgot you had that! But I'll still get you!"

"Don't bet on it! Full Burst Mode! Locked on target! All weapons at max output! FIRE!"

"Heh, classic Azrael. Always pulling something nuts out of the blue."

"_Battle Ended."_

"Heh, nice fight Recon." Azrael chuckled as he picked up his Gunpla.

"Hahahaha! Thanks dude! You're as good as ever." Recon rubbed the bottom of his nose. The two boys saw the customers off, and then they went to repairing their Gunpla. "Sooo… you gonna participate in the Qualifier's coming up next month?"

"You already know the answer to that." Azrael sighed as he set his Gunpla down.

"Ah c'mon dude! You'd be awesome! Besides, it would be sweet to see you fight in the World Championship! Wait… what about that original Gunpla of yours… could you show me how much of it is done?" Recon knew perfectly well how to bait Azrael into a conversation about the tournaments.

"Alright then! It's not quite done yet, but I'll be done with it soon!" Azrael got a gleam in his eyes as he opened the door to the workshop and hit the light switch. On the table where the green grid setup was, an unfished black and red Gunpla sat. It was a heavily modified Strike Freedom model, and the weapons around it obviously came from other models.

"Whoa! Is this a Strike Freedom model! Dude that's awesome!"

"Well, it's my own design based off it. Remember that Build Strike used by Sei Iori five years ago? I got my idea from that after rewatching his matches. Say hello to the Build Strike Freedom! Once I finish the wings it'll be ready for battle!"

"Ohh! Nice! I can tell just by looking at it that it's well done! I'd say you'd be able to make it through the Qualifier tournament with it as it is now."

"Oh no Recon. Don't even start this time. You tried this last year when the school tournaments started up."

"Seriously? When are you gonna actually start getting serious? Doesn't it get boring just fighting the same people day after day?" Recon was leaning on the doorframe now, a vein visible on his forehead. This wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. It was always the same. Every time.

"I just can't get fired up like that. What point is there if I can't get into it to even _want _to fight in those tournaments?"

"So you'll just settle for being a hobbyist? Sheesh, well, finish that Gunpla soon. I want to fight it as soon as I can! See ya' tomorrow!" Recon left quickly with a wave. Azrael sighed and turned to the Build Strike Freedom.

"Yeah, I'll get it finished. That's a promise." He was about to get to work, but a loud screech sounded from outside shortly after the sound of the shops door closing sounded. He shot up with a shocked expression and ran to the door. "RECON!"


	3. A Reason To Fight?

Gundam, Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 2: A reason to fight?**

**Strike City Hospital**

"Azrael!"

"We heard what happened!"

Azrael looked up from his seat as his mother and another girl ran up to him. The girl had wavy dark red hair and orange eyes, wearing a blue track jacket over a white shirt and black shorts with canvas sneakers on her feet.

"Mom? Lyra? How'd you guys...?"

"Recon's parents called me and I picked up Lyra, and now we're here."

"Can you tell us what happened? Please? I'm a little worried about both of you guys. Recon's hurt and well... you don't look right." Lyra had grabbed Azrael's hands in her own, concern obvious in her soft features.

"When Recon left the store I heard a screech, and when I rushed out he'd been hit by a driver who'd obviously had a bit too much to drink. Thankfully he's just got a broken leg... but... he's unconscious and isn't waking up." Azrael was keeping back tears. He was confused as to just why this happened to Recon, the most cautious person he knew.

"Oh my god."

"Azrael... I... I have no idea what to say."

"Don't. He wouldn't be wanting us to mope. But... before he left he asked me about entering the Qualifiers... I think he was planning on entering and wanted to see if I would... And of course I said no... Dang it..." Azrael face had shifted to a grimace, and a part of him felt like this was his fault.

"Don't you dare think this was your fault Azrael! I know you well enough!" Lyra's harsh tone snapped Azrael out of his funk, and he looked down.

"Guys, I need to go say something to Recon, even if he won't hear me. Just give me a second." Azrael let his hands slip down to his side as he walked into the room, and he spotted Recon's damaged Akatsuki next to the boy's bed. Recon was hooked up to all kinds of machines to monitor him just in case.

"When are you gonna actually start getting serious? Doesn't it get boring just fighting the same people day after day?"

"Recon, I know you can't hear me, but... I figured out why you asked me about the Qualifier. You wanted to get a chance to fight me in it did you? It seems like that won't happen but... For once, I'll fight in them! I'll enter the qualifiers and make it to the national tournament, then from there, I'll get to the World Championship! I'll get there with my Build Strike Freedom alright? The Gunpla you wanted to see me use, it'll be the one that brings me through this new frontier. So wake up in time to see me make my mark alright? And maybe I can finally find what's missing in me... so get better all right?" Azrael left with that, determination in his eyes.

**Five Days Later/Azrael's Workshop**

"I have to finish it by tomorrow for the first round... But... a part of me still doesn't want to do this..."

Azrael leaned back and looked at the Build Strike Freedom, the body now finished completely, all except the wings and primary weapons other than the beam sabers.

"I've never battled in tournaments because I could never get fired up about them... Recon knows that but he still tried to get me to join. He can't join now, so I have to fight in his place! This is going way out of my comfort zone, but I have to! And to do that, I need to get this finished, at least enough so I can use it in a battle.'

"How long are you gonna camp out in here!?" Lyra slammed the door open, a lunch in her arms for Azrael.

"I need to finish the Build Strike Freedom by tomorrow for the first round. Recon wanted to see this in the World Tournament, and I'm gonna do just that. You know what happens when I say I'm going to do something.

"I've never seen you so motivated before, but, are you sure you want to do this Azrael? You don't really have to." Lyra was examining the Build Strike Freedom now. She wasn't as into Gunpla as her friend, but she knew enough to be capable of telling that it was well made and powerful, and judging by the boxes that came from a blue frame Gundam Astray, he'd obviously implemented parts from that as well, in fact, the Build Strike Freedom's head was a cross between the two. Quality was something she was an expert at seeing as well. 'He must have repainted it since the plastic is colored. He always did prefer black and red.'

"A part of me doesn't, but I need to do this. It'll be the way I make up all those years of not doing anything. I want to prove to myself more than anything I deserve to be called Archangel. But, I want to let Recon know that I'm finally taking his advice at the same time."

Lyra was surprised by the seriousness in Azrael's vice. She was used to him being laid back and dorky, but now she was seeing what it was like when he was serious. Nothing was going to sway him, the same as always. Azrael finally noticed the lunch and decided to try some, and he smiled a bit after taking a bite.

"This is good. Did you make this yourself Lyra?"

"Y-yeah! But only because your mom is busy! I only made it since I figured you'd be hungry. You've been cooped up in here for five days so you need something good to eat!" Lyra's face was bright red, and Azrael chuckled.

"Same as always, but... thanks Lyra."

"Um... I kinda wanted to ask about the whole tournament thing. The school tournaments are over, so isn't there already someone going to the World Championship?"

"The school tournaments, district and regional, help decide which fighters will go to the national tournament, which is also compromised of the block winners from the regional Qualifier starting tomorrow. It's a bracket set up, so I'm not sure how many opponents I'll have to face. But the best part is that they are from all over the city, not just our district, so it'll be interesting no doubt."

"Well, at least you'll have a good model. You gonna test it out?"

"Might have to since I made it the way it is. Implementing three Gunpla models to make one brand new one, that's what building is all about to some. Alright. Let's see how it runs!" Azrael picked up the Gunpla and both of the teens moved to the battle room. Azrael took a moment to configure the settings so he could practice.

"_Please set your GP Base… Beginning Plavsky Particle Dispersion… Field 3, Forest."_

The generated field was a lush forest covered with Japanese cherry trees, a fitting setting to test a new model. Azrael pulled down his goggles as the control zone appeared.

"_Set your Gunpla…"_

After the Build Strike Freedom was scanned, a red gleam shot from it's now glowing eyes as it activated.

"_Battle Start."_

"Azrael Venator, Build Strike Freedom. Let's go!"

The Gunpla tore down its launch rail, shooting out into the open area, bursting forward. Azrael tried out its basic flight maneuvers, and he smiled as he watched the Gunpla zip around, already moving as fast as the Freedom Azrael.

"Hahaha! Look at it! Not even finished but look at it move! This is awesome!" Azrael was hardly trying to contain his excitement as he finally landed, and about five Zaku units popped out of the trees. "So, smart enough to set up an ambush huh? Not like it's gonna be much help!"

The Zakus pulled out their Heatawks, and Azrael responded by drawing a beam saber, the red beam letting out a near menacing light.

"Let's go!"

"Incredible! He's not even done with it and it performs like a finished model!"

"That is what happens when one pours their heart into building Gunpla! It's like moving your own body when you build it in such a way! That is why Azrael is such a skilled fighter, as his Gunpla are his own unique creations, and so, he understands them like they are his own body!" an older man suddenly appeared next to Lyra as he gave the spill. He seemed to be about middle aged with graying hair and a rounded build under his casual suit.

"Oh Mr. Kanade! Since when did you get here?"

"I was already browsing the aisles. Impressive, isn't it? The way Azrael fights. If this were the Gundam universe perhaps he'd be a Newtype."

"A Newtype?"

"Watch his movements."

Lyra turned back to the ongoing battle and observed. Azrael's Gunpla was moving with perfect precision as it was attacked by squad after squad of Zako's, using nothing but the beam swords to dispatch them. From the movements, being consisted of dodges, dashes and even flight it truly did seem like he could predict his enemies moves, and from the smirk on his face, it was certainly evident he probably was. Granted these were computer controlled units, but Lyra had spotted Azrael cranking up the AI intelligence.

"Alright, now where's the commander?" Azrael muttered as he landed, scanning the part strewn forest. His alert went off for behind him and he blocked an attack from a Heatwak with a quick movement of his left beam saber. "Nice try!"

After the two Gunpla disengaged, both skidded to a stop opposite each other, weapons barred.

"Let's go!"

Azrael shot forward, bringing down one beam saber, the red Zaku commander blocking the attack, attempting to swing with it's other, though that arm was quickly severed. Azrael kicked his enemy aside, and it fired a barrage of missiles, which were blocked by the beam shield Azrael quickly deployed, and he shot through the dusts, impaling his opponent with both blades, then tearing them out, leaving the Zaku in four pieces as it exploded.

"_Battle Ended"_

"Nice battle Azrael. You're as skilled as ever."

"Mr. Kanade? I didn't notice that you'd come in." Azrael lifted up his goggles as he picked up the Build Strike Freedom.

"He said he was browsing the shelves. Question Azrael, what was the difficulty you set the AI to?" Lyra crossed her arms as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Umm…. Just below max. I wanted to push myself, but turns out even that seeting isn't equal to a real life opponent… but that just may be because the Build Strike Freedom has such a good level of performance even though it's not finished."

"Ha! You're too modest! You have the piloting skills of an ace Newtype pilot and you know it. But I was curious, what weapons are you going to equip it with? Those beam sabers can't be all you'll use."

"Oh… well… I'm using a full Strike Freedom loadout mixed with a Blue Frame Astray Gundam's weapon, so if an opponent has an advantage against beam weapons then I'll be ready."

"But wouldn't that be heavy? The Blue Frame Astray has a large weapon."

Mr. Kanade had a good point. The sword/gatling gun used by the Blue Frame Astray was rather large, about as big as the Gunpla itself when in use, though it folded up to store on the back.

"Well, I had to make modifications to the back skirt to accommodate, but it'll work, trust me, or I can make it a side weapon. Still thinking about that. Once Build Strike Freedom is finished I should be able to make it through the World Championship with it if I get that far, though some upgrades will be necessary if I want to keep up."

"Sounds like you might need a support." Lyra was jumping at an obvious chance she saw, even though Azrael may not have known it.

"Huh?"

"I'll be your support! I know enough about Gunpla to act as one. I can keep track of your systems while you focus on fighting and other things."

"But… the rules state that the support would have to be the builder if someone else is fighting. So, I don't see how that would work."

"Actually, it could. Think about it, you two would be like one of the Gundam universe's couples! A young man and woman alongside each other in heated battles, steadily growing their relationship! Hohoho!" Mr. Kanade had grabbed the two teens by their shoulders and swaushed them together, causing both to get red.

"D-don't say it like that old man!"

"Y-yeah! A-all I wanna do is help out since he can't do two things at once!"

"Ahahahaha! Well, I suppose I'll just have to see how this goes tomorrow hmm? Well, good luck on finishing that Gunpla, Azrael. I'll be watching you tomorrow so do your best in your first tournament!"

And with that, the old Gundam enthusiast had left, leaving the two teens flustered and avoiding each other's glances.

"Well um… I gotta…"

"Yeah… you do that…"

"BYE!"

Azrael sat down in his workshop's chair with a sigh, placing the Build Strike Freedom back in its earlier position, sliding over to where the unfinished wings were at and pulling out his tools.

'I can finish this. I'll have it done by tomorrow morning and be ready for the first battle. If Lyra wants to be my support than alright. I could use the extra help anyway. Alright, time to focus!'

**Next morning**

"Ugh, don't tell me he pulled an all-nighter working on his Gunpla! He's going to be late at this rate!" Lyra was fuming as she stormed into the hobby shop, making a beeline for the workshop as Jesse greeted her, kicking to door open. "Azrael! You better… huh? Did he finish it?"

In front of the sleeping Azrael sat the now completed Build Strike Freedom, its wings attached and a beam rifle in each hand, as well as all its other weapons set up, including the Blue Frame Astray's now black sword/gatling gun.

"Wow, after making this for almost a month he's finally done with it. Hmm hmm. Classic Azrael, always doing things faster than people say they will take. If only he had a competitive spirit." She giggled, shaking the boy awake, and Azrael shot up, his goggles hanging on his neck.

"Hmm? Wha? Lyra? Haaaawgh! What time is it?" Azrael felt really groggy as he let out that yawn, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"An hour before you battle is the time! I'm glad you finished it!"

"Huh? You mean the Build Strike Freedom… Uh… actually… I just put on the wings so I could make sure they would fit right with the sword attached! GWAGH!" Azrael was almost panicking now.

"WHAT!? But it looks finished!"

"Just because a Gunpla looks finished doesn't mean it is! Man I still need to set up the D.R.A.G.O.O.N.s but there's not enough time! GAGH! I'll just have to finish the wings later and take it as it is! Let's go Lyra!" Azrael quickly detached the wings and placed the Gunpla in his holder, picking up his GP Base as well. He made sure he had everything and put his goggles back on his head in their usual position. "Alright! Ready to go! Let's move it!"

Azrael tore out of the shop, Lyra following close behind.

"Slowdown will you?"

"I'm not gonna be late for this! I've got a promise to keep and I'm not going to let being late stop me!"

"Well nice to see you're motivated!"

"Yeah well I'm still a little unsure!"

The two kept up their run until they made it to the Strikecenter, rushing in.

"Are we late?" Azrael skidded to a stop at the counter.

"Uh no, round three just ended. Can I get your name please just to be sure?" the receptionist already knew, but, formalities were formalities.

"Azrael Venator. And this is my support Lyra Strikeheart. I'm the builder and fighter, but my Gunpla is set up that way." Azrael was quick with his words.

"Um… alright… well , you're scheduled for match four in twenty minutes. Please head to the arena and pepare your Gunpla if needed."

"Thank you! Phew… safe." Azrael let out a relieved sigh as he and Lyra made their way to the large arena that made up the bottom floor.

"Yeah that was a close call. Twenty minutes to prepare… that should be enough time for you to make any last minute tweaks right?" Lyra had a hand on her chin as she contemplated things, trying to think ahead a bit.

"Yeah. I'll be able to pull through though. Shouldn't be that hard now that the loadout is set up completely without the wings. The sword has a flight mode anyway so it can compensate for now." Azrael was examining his Gunpla now, his grip tightening on it a bit.

'If only Recon could be watching this. Well, when he does wake up, I'll be in Nationals where things will be interesting. Let's go!'

The doors to the arena slid open, and Azrael entered through with determination in his eyes, ready to finally begin his first tournament.


	4. Build Strike Freedom Finally Finished!

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 3: Build Strike Freedom Finally Finished!**

"We now begin Match 4 of the first round of the regional qualifying tournament." The announcer declared as Azrael and Lyra made their way up to the battle stage.

"You ready Azrael?" Lyra asked as Azrael set his base and the field generated, a space area littered with meteors.

"Ready as always." Azrael placed down the Buld Strike Freedom, pulling down his goggles as the controls appeared in front of him, and Lyra placed her hands on the holo-keyboard that appeared in front of her.

"Everything checks out. You're good to go."

"_Battle Start."_

"Build Strike Freedom."

"Let's go!" Azrael smirked as the Gunpla tore down the rail, bursting out into the open space zone, and the crowd, plenty of them well aware of who Azrael was, let out a collective gasp. When the enemy got close, Azrael maneuvered past the shots fired with ease, dashing back, rolling, and weaving through them before shooting past his opponent.

"Target locked Azrael!"

"Fire!" Azrael aimed with one beam rifle, firing a short burst of blasts that took out the opponent's rifle and even part of its booster. "This will end it!" he fired one more shot, this one going straight through the opponent's chest.

"_Battle Ended."_

"One shot!?"

"What kind of power does that thing have?"

"So this is what Archangel can do. Amazing!"

"You did it! Hahaha! You did Azrael you got past round one!" Lyra cheered happily, jumping up and down as the field closed, literally jumping onto him.

"Whoa! Lyra no need to get so excited!" Azrael yelped as he managed to regain his footing. Lyra seemed to finally realize just what she did and shot back, her face reddening.

"Holy cow Azrael that was awesome!"

"Is that a new model?"

Some of the other contestants ran up to the teen, and he smiled as he picked up his Gunpla.

"Yep. Though it's actually not finished. I'm almost done however so once I am done you'll get to see what it really is capable of." Azrael stated as he showed the Build Strike Freedom to the others.

"I lost to an incomplete Gunpla!? AGH!"

"Hey it's no big deal. Work a bit harder with putting yours together and improve your skills, that's all there is to it!"

"Always giving advice, even if it's to an opponent. Classic Azrael." Lyra giggled as she watched Azrael talk with the other competitors, giving advice or answering questions about his Gunpla.

'So this is what it's like being around competitive battlers in a tournament. It's… actually kind of fun when there's something at stake like that. It's a real motivator. Maybe I can finally start to see why Recon enjoys these so much.' Azrael let his thoughts overtake him as he talked, his usual mentor-like demeanor present.

**[The Next Day]**

"IT'S FINISHED!"

Azrael's ecstatic yell resounded throughout the Venator home, and the teen rushed down the stairs, Gunpla in hand right as he placed it on the counter.

"Mom, Lyra, say hello to the completely finished Build Strike Freedom! I finally managed to complete the wings and D.R.A.G.O.O.N drones, and I even managed to calibrate the Voiture Lumiere propulsion system for full flight capabilities in and out of atmosphere zones. There's no way I'm getting caught in a barrage during the tournament!"

Azrael had that glint in his eyes again and a hint of pride in his voice.

"Good job Azrael! It looks incredible!"

"Nice! It's extremely well made. I can tell just by looking you poured a lot of time into it."

"Thanks Lyra. I also managed to modify the Tactical Arms from the Astray Blue Frame to fit along with the wings, so it has double the thrust and a varied load out because of it. Y'know, it's odd how you have a natural eye for these things."

"Call it an artist's intuition. Comes with being the daughter of two artists. You learn to spot the details. Besides, Gunpla is your own form of art, right?" Lyra had a teasing tone in her voice, and Azrael looked away with a bit of a red face.

"S-so? Well, I'm gonna test it out and see how it performs now. Be out in a minute!" Azrael picked up the Gunpla and went into the battle room, starting up the system immediately, the stage a ruined city at twilight.

"Ms. Venator, how long did Azrael take to build that Gunpla? From my estimate it must have taken weeks." Lyra asked this as she watched from behind the glass, the Build Strike Freedom flying around at incredible speeds, bombarding the unmanned Gunpla with storms of fire with each sweep.

"You're right. He's spent so much time working on that, getting in the fine details and piecing together what he needed to. It makes me so happy to see that glint in his eyes and that smile from seeing the fruits of his hard work. I'd say he's surpassed his father by this point. Just look at him go. It's almost like he's in a completely different world now that he's set his mind one Gunpla Battle for the sake of a friend." Mrs. Venator said this with a smile as she watched her son at work. Truly, it was the definition of a Gundam battle, one against many.

"Seeing this, I wonder, what'll it be like when he fights in the world tournament? Then again, he pilots like a Newtype so I don't have any doubts."

"You're planning ahead."

"I am Azrael's support. It's my job to stay a step ahead. We aren't childhood friends without good reason. Besides, I've always bailed him out of tight spots."

"Y'know a lot of people think the two of you are dating." Jesse brought up to infamous topic. Though Lyra and Azrael merely had a platonic sibling like relationship, they were still young teenagers, and it was still fun to watch them get flustered when someone implied otherwise.

"W-why do you always have to bring that up!? You know way better Ms. Venator!"

"Hahahaha! It never gets old teasing you!"

"Did you just say that to mess with me and change the subject?"

"Perhaps."

"Man you are no fun."

Lyra went back to watching, and just in time as well. Azrael was seemingly cornered, all eight DRAGOONs deployed.

"Full Burst!"

With that, the successive beam fire decimated what was left of the AI enemies and the battle finished, the field vanishing.

"Hahaha! That was awesome! Did you guys see that!?" Azrael was ecstatic as he rushed out of the battle room to the other two.

"You're as skilled a pilot as ever Lieutenant. Good work!"

"Thank you Commander!"

"And they're back to roleplaying again."

"Hey it's just a family thing. Hmm… Man I need another project to work on in my free time!" With that, Azrael immediately shot over to the shelves and stated scanning around. Granted, his preference in Gundam types made his choices rather… complicated unless he was going to make a completely unique model.

"Hmm… Hey Azrael, could I go look at the ones you have built so I can see your handiwork?" Lyra was rather curious about that. The only Gunpla she'd seen him really ever use were his Freedom Azrael and now the Build Strike Freedom.

"Yeah sure. I'm gonna take a minute so feel free… Hmm… what to build this time…" Azrael was moving boxes left and right as he looked high and low. Lyra nodded and headed up the stairs, opening the door to Azrael's simply decorated room. There wasn't anything spectacular about it except for the linked workshop where he built all his Gunpla. But it was the glass cased top shelf she was looking for. In it was all of Azrael's personally built Gunpla, not like the display models below that were merely samples. All of these bore Azrael's distinct black and red color scheme, and each one had some sort of wing like booster on its back, as Azrael had a preference for those types. They ranged from the Wing Gundam to the Destiny, even his Freedom Azrael.

"Wow he really put a lot of effort into these. You can tell just from a glance… but… some are better than others." Lyra was in her observing mode, and she could tell the quality of the builds differed, each one reflecting Azrael's increase in his skill as a builder. "And then you have his Build Strike Freedom, his crown achievement."

"Heh, you're in observation mode aren't you?" Azrael chuckled as he entered, a box in his arms.

"Which one did you pick out this time? Cause from this it seems you're running out of build options."

"Yeah I know. But this time I'm deviating a bit. Ta dah! Say hello to the 00 Raiser! It's a newer model from the 00 series that came out not long ago. Once I'm done with this, it'll be my back up." Azrael brought out the box in front of him, revealing the image on front.

"I remember watching this when you, me, and Recon were kids. Doesn't this one have really bad power deficiencies though?"

"Well yeah, I'd have to tune it after each battle to keep it in top shape, so that's why it's gonna be a backup. Besides, I need something to keep me occupied between each round right?"

"Man you are such a Gundam nerd. All you ever do is rewatch the episodes or build your Gunpla… then again, it's the way you grew up."

"Like how you grew up making all sorts of art. Everybody has their thing. And mine's Gundam and Gunpla." Azrael had such a dorky smile on his face Lyra couldn't help but laugh as memories came up. It had always been this way with the trio she, Azrael, and Recon made up ever since grade school. Lyra was the artist, and Azrael and Recon were the nerds who were always competing with each other. The rivalry between the two finally came to its head when Gunpla Battle came into things. It went from out building the other to outclassing the other. But then both became evenly matched with each other thanks to familiarity, and that was when Azrael seemed to lose that competitive edge he had when facing Recon, the only person who'd could fight him on even terms within the city at this point.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true. Alright, well, don't stay up to late working on that or else you'll be too tired."

"Hey! I'm not gonna overwork myself… like I normally do…"

Lyra chuckled and left with a wave, and Azrael retreated into his workshop to get to work.

**[Round 2: Match 4]**

"Deploy DRAGOONS!"

Azrael dodged yet another storm of fire from his opponent's funnels, throwing the damaged beam rifles aside since they'd been blasted through, and retaliated with his own separate units, which blasted through the opponents funnels and left a clear path for him to dive through. The Build Strike Freedom pulled out a beam saber and blasted downwards in a steep dive, cutting off before crashing and blasting past the enemy Gunpla, bisecting it. As the explosion went off, the beam saber was stored and the Build Strike Freedom threw up a fist as Azrael did the same.

"Awesome!" Lyra jumped up and slapped a high five with Azrael.

"Heh heh, we're past round two and goin' strong!"

"Yep!"

**[Recon's Hospital Room]**

"Lyra and I made it past round two Recon. Only three more to go until I make it to the national tournament, then it'll be on to the World Championship from there. Heh, you'd be amazed by my new Gunpla. It's just downright awesome. But, I haven't set up a system that'll let me manipulate the Plavsky particles yet, but who knows, maybe I won't need to. I guess I'll just have to see how things go from here on out. Y'know, I'm actually starting to see why the tournaments are fun, not quite like you did, I could never be that competitive. But I have to say these opponents are getting tougher. This last one actually nailed my beam rifles with their funnels."

Azrael let out a light chuckle at that, and he looked at the still in need of repairs rifle clutched in his palm.

"Yeah, they're tough alright. And I hope they'll get tougher, because maybe then I can find out what's missing. I'll talk to ya' once I make it to Nationals alright? You better wake up by then or you'll miss the show."

Surprise crossed Azrael's face when he swore he saw Recon's lips quirk into a small smile, but he blinked and it was gone.

"Hmm… odd… eh."

Azrael shrugged, and before he left, he placed the reconstructed Akatsuki back on the shelf. He's asked Recon's parents if he could repair it, and he'd done just that.

"Hope you like what I did with it. See ya' next time."

**A/N**

**I had to decide on themes to use…**

**Azrael and Build Strike Freedom Theme: Silver Will, Legend of Heroes OST  
watch?v=mAUvDSC1Qtc**


	5. A World Level GunplaThe Fenice Rinascita

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 4: A World Level Gunpla… The Fenice Rinascita?!**

**(Regional Qualifier Round 3/Match 4)**

Azrael dodged the incoming storm of fire from his opponent, who was using a Heavy Arms Gundam, the heavy Vulcans on its arms letting out storms of fire from all over.

"Like those can catch me!"

The Build Strike Freedom weaved through the hail of projectiles with the practiced efficiency Azrael was known for, the DRAGOONs deployed and blasting forward.

"Go!"

Azrael swapped out for a beam saber as his guns were blasted, boosting forward as the DRAGOONs stored, slashing through his enemy with ease, storing the beam saber as the explosion let out.

"The winner of the fourth match in round three of the America 2nd Block qualifier is Azrel Venator!"

"Sheesh, both guns got hit this time. Man these opponents are getting better. I'm gonna need to step it up."

"Man that was a good match! I never thought I'd get to fight Archangel in this things!"

"Hahaha… well, I entered for a friend. But that was a good fight! Honestly this marks the second time my main weapons got busted, but you got both so props to ya!"

"Haha! Sweet!"

"Heh heh…"

Azrael picked up his Gunpla nad looked at it for a bit, his smile never fading.

'This Gunpla will definitely get me through… I just need to test it against stronger opponents so I can improve it… after all, Gunpla battle is all about that: You build, destroy, and build again and again, all to improve your skills and make your own unit as tough as it can be. That's what Recon told me when we were younger.'

**(Venator Houshold)**

"Azrael! Sorry I couldn't make it to the match I had stuff to… Hmm? Mrs. Venator where's Azrael?"

Lyra rushed in, but Azrael hadn't been behind the counter like she thought he'd be, instead it was his mother.

"Oh Lyra! Well, Azrael went out for a bit. He didn't really say when he'd be back… hmm…"

"Huh? Did he say where he's going?"

"I'm sure he's just taking a walk or something! He'll be fine!"

"I hope you're right…"

**(Gunpla Battle Bar)**

"Yeesh, been a while since I was here."

Azrael looked up at the small neon sign above the door that lead to the Battle Bar within the lowered alley way, and a mental image of his father bringing him here when he was younger to watch the battles popped up in Azrael's mind as he pushed the door open and walked inside, a small, nostalgic grin on his face as he saw the grownups battling, every last one of them in Earth Alliance Uniforms.

"Ah Azrael, it's been a while since you were here."

The bartender turned towards the teen with a kind smile as he dryed a mug, and Azrael nodded towards him.

"Yeah. I figured I might as well stop by and see how I match up against them… when was the last time I was here again?"

"You really forgot?"

"Uh… yeah… sorry… Heh heh… what with the Block Qualifier and all I've been kind of busy."

"Ohhh, so you finally entered the tournaments have you?"

"Yep. To be honest, I'm seeing I'm gonna have to brush up. After being out of competition for like, ever, I need to sharpen my skills if I want to stand a chance during the World Tournament, I've had to repair my Gunpla's main rifles twice in the last two matches. I'm getting careless since I'm not that competitive."

"Hmm, well, since you are used to such high performance Gunpla like the ones you make yourself, perhaps using a rent build will help you. They're not like the ones used in tournaments mind you, as they are simply built to specifications."

"That sounds like a good idea. Hey guys! You been listening haven't you!"

"Gagh! The Lieutenant knows we've been snooping!?"

"Oh no!?

"Really? How many times have I told you not to call me Lieutenant? Only my mom and dad get away with that."

Azrael sighed as he leaned on his arm. He was fine with acting weird around his family members and close friends, but in a public place like this? Not so much.

"We would be disrespecting the Genera; if we did so sir!"

"Hagh… dangit dad why did you have to take the lead here huh?"

"You can't blame them. It really marks them as true Gundam fans. But, since you're here to battle, which model do you want to use?"

Azrael turned in his chair and looked at the case with Gunpla's in it, scanning for a second.

"Alright, how about a Jegan? I haven't handled that before so let's see how it goes."

"Huh?"

"He's going to use that?"

"But our Gunpla are far superior to that."

"Well then we'll just have to see won't we? You all know I'm called Archangel for a reason."

Azrael stood up and cracked his knuckles as the Gunpla was brought out, and as requested, it was a basic black colored Jegan, a mass produced foot soldiers unit known for getting blasted apart in seconds during the anime. But then again, one hadn't really been used by a skilled pilot, especially when that pilot was compared to a Newtype.

"Alright then let's go!"

Azrael set the Gunpla and pulled down his goggles, as always, and got ready as the field set up, a snowy terrain. When the fight started and the battle began, things went rather quickly. Azrael's opponent was using a Buster Gundam, but, surprisingly, Azrael was fluidly moving the Jegan with ease and avoided the initial barrage of fire, taking the opening and blasting his opponent in the head with his beam rifle, thus ending the battle.

"Hmm… now I see it…"

Azrael pulled up his goggles, and he now had a very contemplative look on his face, and all the men in the uniforms stared in amazement at what had just happened.

"Bartender, I'm starting to see why people give me acclaim for the Gunpla I build. This Jegan isn't anywhere near what my Build Strike Freedom is at. It's a casual tournament grade at best, while my Build Strike Freedom is National Level. I can tell just by looking. Alright, all of you come at me at the same time! I want a challenge! One on one won't tell me anything!"

"Alright then…"

"If it's a challenge you want it's a challenge you'll get Lieutenant!"

"Looking forward to it! Let's go!"

The battlefield started up again, and now it was five on one, all the enemies using SEED Era prototype Gunplas. The Jegan wouldn't stand a chance, but Azrael sure as heck wasn't going to go down without a fight. As each opponent came at him, he retaliated with dodges, blasts, and slashes, damaging each.

"All at once!"

"Darn…"

As the Jegan was rushed, it wound up losing an arm and a leg from attacks after its dodges, as Azrael was used to having a more powerful propulsion system to help his movement, and the Jegan clearly lacked that mobility.

"We have you now!"

As the five enemies closed in, all five were taken out in a matter of seconds by two blasts that were different colors, and Azrael turned towards the source, and his eyes widened when he saw the Gunpla that had fired.

'No way… I recognize that Gunpla! It's… the Fenice Rinascita!? But how!? What would Ricardo Fellini, the Italian Cahmpion, be doing here!?'

As the setup closed, Azrael turned to his left slowly, surprise on his face coming out in full when he was proved right. Standing close by was indeed the man known as the Italian Dandy, Ricardo Fellini.

"Well now, that battle hardly seemed fair, five on one. I wonder what you were thinking boy."

Azrael felt a little irked by that, even though Ricardo's tone wasn't mocking, more like questioning.

"I was handling it!"

"Oh so you didn't need my help? It seemed like you did."

"Ngh… answer me this, why is the Italian Champ here at some Battle Bar in Strike City America?"

"Ohhh… Well, I heard about a talented Gunpla Battler here when I decided to visit my friend Greco. You wouldn't by chance happen to know of somebody named Azrael venator would you?"

"Huh!? Th-that's me!"

"Huuuh? You're the one they keep talking about? I thought you might be… I dunno… older…"

"I'M SEVENTEEN!"

"Eh… a little snippy ain't ya?"

Azrael took a breath and calmed himself. He was a little irritated by the fact he'd just had his hide saved out of nowhere like that, but he soon managed to put his trademark grin back on his face.

"Sorry. But, I'm surprised you were looking for me. Do rumors spread that far in this city?"

"Apparently. Still, I watched you fight before entering, and from what I heard I was positive you'd be doing better, eve with a Jegan."

"That's because I'm not used to it. I perform better with high performance Gunpla I've built myself. One like this,"

Azrael opened his carrier and pulled out the Build Strike Freedom, and everyone but Ricardo gasped when they saw it, and Ricardo gained an analytic look.

"Hmm… I can tell you made this by taking parts from an Astray model and mashing it with a Strike Freedom… all the weapons are custom built or modified, and it also has the Tactical Arms from the Blue Frame Astray Second L… so I can presume that's what you mashed the Strike Freedom with to make this? I have to say, it's practically perfect in construction, you put quite a lot of time into it."

"Wow… you could tell just by looking at it?"

"A skilled builder can easily recognize how a Gunpla is built. Take a look at my Fenice Rinascita and tell me what you see eh?"

Azrael looked surprised for a second, moving his gaze away from his Gunpla, and after a motion from Ricardo, looked at the Fenice Rinascita carefully, analyzing everything he saw.

'Everything about this Gunpla says it was made from the Builder's heart… it's based from the Wing Gundam, so it should have access to a Bird Mode… all its armor is custom made, and it's look is completely unique… it also has some pretty powerful weapons… This Gunpla is amazingly strong! If I were to go against Fellini… I may not do as well as I thought… it's far superior to my Build Strike Freedom… and it took me months to get the build for it right… Not only that, but Fellini has much more experience than I do when it comes to battling. So this is a World Level Gunpla… I was right when I said I need to step up my game. I may be called the best in the city… but just be seeing the skill gone into making this and knowing the skills of its pilot from past recordings… I can tell I'm outclassed here…'

"I can tell you put your heart and soul into making this… it's amazingly strong. I haven't come across a Gunpla like this, not ever. It's… hard to describe really. It's… much better than mine."

"Oh there's no need to be like that. You did a great job on yours as well. It reminds of the Star Build Strike Sei Iori used five years ago… but it's… I don't know, not quite world level, not yet anyway."

"I know that… at least, now I do. Man I really need to improve. I'm good, but not that good. Hahahaha!"

"Heh, it's nice to see someone so light hearted about this. Most people feel offended by things like that."

"Well I wouldn't be a good sport if I was like that. So, did you come here just to meet me or are you here for a battle?"

"Heh, I like your spirit kid. And yeah, I do want a battle. I want to see the skills that resulted in your nickname."

"Well then let's get to it!"

"No way!"

"They're actually going to battle each other now?"

The chatter went about as the two combatants set up, and the arena started.

"_Field 1, Space"_

The space field was more remiscent to a ruined space colony, but with all the ruins in open areas it made perfect sense this time.

'I'm gonna be fighting someone who's been in multiple world tournaments… no doubt it'll be interesting.'

"_Please, set your Gunpla"_

"Build Strike Freedom."

"Gundam Fenice Rinascita."

"Let's go!"

Both Gunpla shot out of the launch rails at full speed, and with the clash of their beam sabers, the battle was on. Azrael pulled back immediately after the clash, making expert use of his Voiture Lumiere along with the Tactical Arm's thrust to blast off at an amazing speed to dodge Ricardo's fire.

"Good! Your Gunpla's mobility is something else entirely! If it's a contest of speed you want then you got it! Let's go partner!"

The Fenice swapped to bird mode and blasted off in pursuit of the Build Strike Freedom, nimbly dodging debris and other obstacles.

"So it's a chase huh? Well then let's just close you in!"

Azrael turned and fired his rifles at the nearest chunks of the colony, sending shards flying and making the pieces collide in, but the Fenice shot through at the last second, and the chase continued, both sides exchanging fire and blasting the debris around them, and Azrael was knocked down to one rifle from an accurate shot by Ricardo.

"So this is what it's like fighting at a world level! Hahahaha! This is awesome!"

"So you're seeing why those of us who compete have so much fun hmm?"

"What?"

"I heard about how you don't like participating in tournaments, apparently you're not competitive. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have the will to fight on, even in that situation! Shouldn't your goal truly be to just fight opponents like myself full out? No matter the situation, whether it be like right now or on the grand stage of the World Tournament?"

As the Gunpla clashed again, Azrael started thinking.

'True, I'm not competitive… never have been… but… I've enjoyed Gunpla battle ever since I was eleven… and watching the World Tournament got me excited like nothing else, seeing all those strong fighters battle all out to test their skills… maybe… maybe the reason I didn't bother with the tournaments was because I forgot that! I forgot that waiting past this city are dozens of fighters from all over the world I can test myself against! Opponents like Ricardo Fellini!"

"Alright Fellini… you've got me fired up now! Let's go! Activate SEED!"

"So now you're getting serious! Alright, come at me!"

As the red lines shot across Azrael's Gunpla, Ricardo readied himself for the deciding clash, and with another blast from their sabers clashing, the fight continued…

**Later, Coastline**

Azrael was walking along with his arms behind his head in the twilight, and after a bit, he broke out laughing.

"Hahahahahaha! Man I got my butt handed to me! Even after pulling out SEED mode I lost and I lost good! No wonder he's got the reputation he has! Fellini you're a force to be reckoned with! Thanks for the awesome battle! Hahahahahaha!"

After he caught his breath, Azrael hurried home, and he was quickly met with a concerned looking Lyra and Jesse.

"Where were you Azrael!?"

"You didn't say you'd be this late!"

"Sorry! I was just battling at the Battle Bar! You'd never guess who I fought! Believe it or not, it was Ricardo Fellini! And boy is he good! I haven't been thrashed like that in years, hahahaha!"

"YOU'RE LAUGHING ABOUT THAT!?"

"Well of course! I can repair the Build Strike Freedom in time! It's not that beat up! But it was awesome! I haven't a battle that fun since Recon and I last fought! But, I've finally found a reason to keep going in the tournament even if I'm not competitive about it. Another reason not to lose!"

"WHAAAAAAT!?"

"It was what I was missing! I'd forgotten how excited I was when I watched the World Tournament, all those strong fighters trying to prove who's the best! I'd forgotten about my drive to fight strong opponents like that so I could get better and be like them!"

"Well, even still, what's the condition of your Gunpla?"

Azrael chuckled and pulled out the heavily damaged Build Strike Freedom, which was rather beat up despite what Azreal had said.

"You said it was barely beat up! This'll take forvere to repair if it took you so long to build it!"

"Relax. I can have it finished by next week in no time! Heh heh, but this time, it's gonna be stronger! Not quite World Level, not yet, but enough to get me through the Nationals without a hitch!"

Azrael dashed up the stairs immediately, and Jesse chuckled.

"He's got that spark in his eyes again… but now, it's so much brighter than before… finally, that fire Recon was trying to spark is burning again. Not the fire of a competitor, but the fire of a fighter eager for a challenge."

"Mrs. Venator? What do you mean?"

"Heh heh, Recon never told you huh? The reason he pestered Azrael about those tournaments wasn't to try and make him competitive, it was to reawaken the drive to fight strong opponents. Azrael's back to his old self now… just watch the trail he'll blaze."

Up above, Azrael was already working, getting pieces ready, redoing parts and replacing pieces that were to damaged.

'I'll do it! Once the Nationals are over, I'll make a Gunpla that can compete with the likes of the Fenice Rinascita with ease! I'll create a World Level Gunpla and show everyone what I'm capable of! Not for the competition, but because I want the chance to have awesome battle's like I saw when I was younger! And this Gunpla... It'll be the one to get me there!"


	6. A new idea, the 00 Frontier!

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 5: A new idea, the 00 Frontier!**

**Azrael's Workshop**

Azrael was snoring soundly at the table, the rebuilt Build Strike Freedom in his hand, and the newly fabricated beam rifles on the table in front of him alongside a black and red shield he taken from his Destiny Custom. The door opened, and Jesse peeked her head in slowly since it was late.

"Hmm hmm, he's worked himself so hard these past few days. An impressive job on fixing it Azrael. Sleep tight."

**The Next Morning**

"Auuugh! Man… I stayed up so late last night fixing the Build Strike Freedom… I don't even remember when I fell asleep…"

"Well that's why you should only work periodically! We still have two days until the next round, so you didn't have to rush it."

Lyra let out a sigh as Azrael walked with his arms hanging, a bored look across the boy's face.

"Still… I'm also trying to think of some upgrades for it. If I'm gonna go through Nationals with it I need to think ahead and make it stronger… I've added a shield with reinforced plating, and I reinforced the rifles so they can be used at a higher output and take more hits. I usually only focused on attacking quickly and I never thought about defense much, but after fighting Ricardo Fellini I realized I need to improve my building technique even more than it already is."

"Huh? But, you're mom said you're better than your dad is!"

"She was over exaggerating! Mom always does that! My dad managed to make a Gunpla that could compete at World Level. I'm nowhere near that stage yet. At best, I can make a top tier national level Gunpla. I need to get stronger… I need to be able to make a Gunpla like that…"

"Hagh… you know you're starting to sound a lot like Flit Asuno from Gundam AGE. All this "I need to get stronger" stuff. Sheesh. You can be such a nerd."

"Well at least for me it's okay! Nobody cares if I'm a huge Gundam nerd because it's so popular!"

"Save it for the next convention Azrael."

"Man you are so insufferable!"

The bell for the first class rang, and the tens yelled in a hysterical manner before sprinting off as fast as they could, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

"It's your fault we're late Lyra!"

"No it's not! You're the one who slept in!"

"Oh shut up!"

**[Venator Hobby shop/Battle Room]**

Azrael was busy testing out the new weapons he'd made, along with the shield, which easily held up against the storm of fire that came from the enemie's gatling gun. Azrael flew up above the roofs of the buildings the fight was taking place around, slamming his rifles together to form one long range gun.

"Merge Rifle output at maximum!"

"Fire!"

Azrael fired a massive red blast that had blue energy swirling around it, raking the street and decimating the unmanned Gunpla in addition.

"_Battle Ended."_

"Well, the new design for the rifles works, and the shield is tough as nails! Heh, I even decided to reinforce the plastic." Azrael snickered as he looked at the now immobile Strike Freedom, "Though it does have phase shift armor, it's best if I keep it ready for anything."

"You still haven't really used your Tactical Arms yet though. Is it ever gonna see action?"

"I implemented the Tactical Arms as a last resort weapon. If I come across an opponent like Nils Nielson, who can negate beam attacks, then I'll need it. SEED mode won't be enough since all it does is enhance the particle emission like the RG mode used by the Star Build Strike and Build Strike Cosmos in the past few tournaments, though I can't use it to the same effect."

"I sounds like you're already trying to create a World Level Gunpla."

"I am… I need to do a total rehaul though… maybe implement technologies from later eras… the SEED era tech won't be enough… maybe 00 or even AGE implementations to add on… it's what I was drafting up during free time today."

"Really?"

"Yep. Just like the Build Strike Freedom, I'm making this new Gunpla from scratch with ones I have, and I'm gonna make it from the Build Strike Freedom itself. But… I'm still trying to think of a name for it… it's gonna be totally unique, like Fellini's Fenice Rinascita."

"Hmm… well, guess you've got a lot to do. But don't think too far ahead Azrael. We still have a few more rounds in the qualifier and nationals. The World Tournament is still a long ways away. But, I bet when Recon wakes up he won't be able to wait to see what you come up with. Put that imagination to use and make something brilliant! See ya tomorrow for the next round!"

"Something unique… hmm…"

Azrael picked up his Gunpla and looked at it closely. True, he'd loved the SEED era Gundams for years, but he also knew about the capabilities of the 00 era, and an idea finally came to him.

'The 00 Raiser I built… maybe… yeah! I should combine the design of the 00 Raiser with the Build Strike Freedom to make my new Gunpla! Two eras combined to make something new… phase shift armor and Trans AM… and with the Raiser I'll have a backup in case the main body is rendered unfunctional… but just how will I do this? Ngh… like Lyra said, I just need to worry about getting through the qualifier right now… but… ngh… I need to make sketches!'

Azrael dashed out of the battle room and rushed up to his room, grabbing the 00 Raiser out of his work shop and setting the two Gunpla side by side on his desk, pulling out his sketchbook and pencil, looking at the two carefully as he started sketching out his plan, starting with the frame…

'This will be the most complicated Gunpla I've built by far… but, it's going to be all my own… and I'm already thinking of a name… the 00 Frontier!'

**Regional Qualifier, Round 4 match seven**

"Alright Azrael, the guns at full charge! You ready!?"

"As always!"

"We're not going to give you the chance!"

The enemy Gunpla, a black Khampfer, zoomed past Azrael, kicking up sand and making a cloud to obscure his view.

"Darn… where'd they go?"

Azrael looked around, separating his rifles and aiming in both directions, deploying the DRAGOONs to be on the safe side.

"Azrael behind you!"

Azrael turned around, just in time to block the incoming blast with his shield, and he was shoved back a good distance. The shield had a heavy burn mark in it, and Azrael threw it aside as the enemy charged through the dust cloud.

"Heh, he fell right into it. Fire DRAGOONs!"

"Don't think so! Funnels!"

The funnels shot out of the Khampfer and the two sets began opening fire on each other, both getting blasted down, and Azrael shot off.

"Man he's good."

"I've been watching your previous battles Archangel! You're little tricks won't work with me!"

The enemy took aim with the cannon again, charging up.

"Well there's one thing you forgot! Full Burst!"

Azrael readied his own weapons, and both massive beams clashed, causing a massive explosion that damaged both fighters main long range weapons.

"Darn it… beam sabers won't help. Deploy Tactical Arms! Sword Mode!"

The back Tactical Arms shot off, switching to its broadsword form, and Azrael caught it in both hands, readying the massive blade as he flew down.

"So it's a close range fight you want huh? Bring it on!"

The Khampfer pulled out twin heat hawks and charged forward, the blades meeting and sending up a blast of dust, the crowd cheering as the fight proceeded.

"Heh, this fights fun! I have to say you're pretty good, but…"

Azrael moved one hand, and deployed a beam saber.

"I've got tactics on my side! Haaaaaa!"

The beam saber was swung, and the Khampfers head came with it, the piece crashing down into the sand as Azrael quickly moved and slashed once more with the Tactical Arms, sending his enemy flying, ending the match.

"The winners of the semifinals in the America 2nd Block Qualifier is Azrael Venator and Lyra Strikeheart!"

The crowd let out ecstatic cheers as the field closed, and Azrael let out a long breath.

"Man that was intense… I have to say you're pretty good!"

"Heh, you certainly live up to your reputation kid! I didn't see that last attack coming!"

"Hehehe. I was surprised you could tell how I'd fight, but, goes to show what happens when an enemy analyzes what happens huh?"

"Yep. But good luck in the finals Archangel! You better not lose!"

"I won't. I have my reasons. Thanks for the fun battle!"

"Man, he needs to make repairs again? These opponents are getting tough. All his weapons are pretty much trashed… well, the guns aren't that damaged…"

Lyra was observing the damage done to the Build Strike Freedom, and it wasn't as extensive as when Azrael had fought Fellini, but it was still a little beat up.

"Hmm, his opponents are really putting him through the test now. And he's just fired up for it. That's Azrael for ya. Strong opponents are like bait to him."

"So, hows it look Lyra?"

"Not that much damage, but the shield is gonna need to be fixed up pretty good, and the rifles aren't too roughed up."

"Good, I can have those done in a couple hours. After that I'm gonna keep drafting up my new Gunpla for the world Tournment… heck, if I get it done fast enough maybe it'll be done in times for Nationals!"

"Don't get to ahead. And what new Gunpla?"

"The one I said I was planning. The 00 Frontier! It's gonna be a mix between my Build Strike Freedom and the 00 Raiser I built recently. I'm drafting it out because I need to figure out how to put the two together, but, if I can manage it, I'll be able to make something unlike anything that's been seen! A Gunpla that's completely my own… that's what these battles are all about Lyra, finding a way to create something that suits you the best. And I think I've finally found mine."

Lyra looked at Azrael carefully when he gleaned that dorky grin again as he picked up his Gunpla and its weapons, starting to think as they left.

'So Gunpla is a way of expressing yourself in both creation and battle huh? A lot like the art I make… a part of me wants to give building one a try… just so I can know what it's like for Azrael and Recon, to put time into making something like that… yeah… like I said, Gunpla is their art. Sometimes I think I'll never be able to understand those two… but maybe I can find a way to myself… hmph...'

"Well, I'd like to see your designs. I've always liked seeing your sketches when you plan these things."

"Hehe… they're only ever sketches, but, sure! After I finish these repairs just come on over and I'll show you. But you sure you're still not interested in building your own Gunpla?"

"Well… I was thinking about it… but… I mean, what would I build? There's not a lot of those geared towards girls…"

"Well then make it geared towards you. Gunpa is all about self-expression. You can take two or more models and use them to make something unique… That's what the 00 Frontier is going to be. So, just go and pick something out and I'll help you out! Besides what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you out huh?"

"Thanks Azrael! Alright, let's go!"

Lyra took off ahead and Azrael chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets.

"The minute we do something like that she gets ecstatic. None of us have change huh Recon? The three of us are always gonna be like this. Well, once you see the Gunpla I build, it'll take your breath away, just watch me!"

Azrael ran off himself, a grin on his face as his thoughts started racing, plans already forming to build the 00 Frontier.

**A/N**

**Okay, now I want to try and make an actual version of the 00 Frontier myself… just need to get the right models… also, I decided on character theme, really just Azrael's and the Build Strike Freedom's/00 Frontier's for now.**

**Azrael's Theme: **Back-ON, "Believer"  
watch?v=0mLJh_z8DJE

**Build Strike Freedom/00 Frontier Theme: **ViViD, "Real"  
watch?v=zZ6o2V7rYLs


	7. A Battle Reborn! Freedom vs Impulse!

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 6: A Battle Reborn! Freedom vs. Impulse!**

**Venator Hobby Shop**

"So just take your pick of whatever model you wanna use. Gunpla is meant to reflect your personal taste. Just picking a model, building it, and giving it a custom paint job isn't enough. At least, that's my philosophy. You want the Gunpla to suit you personally in both looks and build."

Azrael and Lyra were standing in the middle aisle of the hobby shop as Azrael explained the basics of building as much as he could, his sketchbook in hand as Lyra listened with rapt attention.

"A Gunpla that suits me…"

"It's why the Gunpla I build for myself mostly come from the SEED or 00 eras. Those were the ones I enjoyed the most, so I have a connection to those ones. There's more than just the mainline eras to. You've got alternate universe types, the SD universe or even SD versions of normal Gundams from the main line. I actually made a couple of those myself for fun… but I've never used them in battle."

Azrael was periodically looking at his sketchbook and jotting something down or erasing and replacing something as Lyra looked around, a hand on her chin as she thought.

'Think of one that comes from the Gundam series I enjoyed the most… well, I'm not as into it as Azrael or Recon, but there was two in particular I liked watching with them… and that was SD and AGE… is there one here like that?'

Lyra spotted one that looked familiar in the SD style, and it piqued her interest.

"Hey, Azrael…"

Azrael looked up from his sketching and put his pencil into the spin.

"Yeah?"

"What's this one right here? It's and SD but it looks like it's from another series… I can't remember which one…"

"Just give me a sec to get it down… aha… Hmm? Heh, I had forgotten we had this one. It's an SD version on the Gundam Legilis from AGE… you should remember this one Lyra. It's the Gundam style Vagan MS used by the Vagan leader in the Kio arc… I seem to remember you saying you liked its design even though the bad guys used it."

"Well that was because the Vagan mobile suits looked awesome! Not like the clunky designs you prefer, I think the Vagan had both elegance and power in mind with their MSs."

"I think that's just you."

"Shut up and let me see it."

Lyra took the box from Azrael, who snickered before going back to his sketches.

'An SD version of the Legilis… for some reason I like this one… of course it would need a different color scheme, I can't stand that stock white and blue… and it also looks surprisingly cute like this…'

Lyra looked at Azrael briefly, noting the concentration in his eyes.

"Can I see your sketches?"

"Um… well… they're still a little rough… I man they're just ideas… I'm still putting the main body together on another page… but… sure."

Lyra tucked the box under her arm and started going through the most recent pages in the sketch book, starting with the one with the frame on it. It seemed to be coming along slowly, but Azrael was finding a way to implement the two armor types together to make something unique, and the other pages had designs for a beam rifle, swords, though she noticed the Tactical Arms wasn't in the sketches.

"Azrael, are you going to use the Tactical Arms?"

"Heh heh… not really… It was hard enough adding it on with the Strike Freedom's wings and all… but with the Raiser I don't think I can manage it without screwing it up. Mash Kit builds are really tricky to pull off if the models come from two different eras like in this case, so I have to plan carefully. Besides, I've only had to use the Tactical Arms once so far, but, I can keep it on standby as an extra weapon just in case."

"Hmm… I can see… and you've been planning this out since last week… I really wonder why you never joined the art club, cause for sketches these are really good."

"Hahaha… all they're gonna be are sketches… but when I do get to building who knows how long it will take… I want to get started by Nationals at least... well, after Nationals when I'll have more time."

"Yeah but Nationals aren't for a month until after the final match tomorrow, so, maybe if you start then you can at least have it mostly ready by Nationals."

"Heh… I dunno we'll see."

Azrael sighed as he took the sketchbook back, leaning on the shelves.

"Sooo… are you gonna choose that one or keep looking?"

"I-I'm choosing this one! I got some ideas… but since it's an SD all I can really do I change the color scheme or weapons… but… I'm gonna build it my own way!"

"Heh… alright… you still gotta pay."

"WHAT!?"

"You may be my friend but this is a business we run here. Don't worry it's not too expensive."

"But… but that's not fair! You always just pick one and go!"

"Well that's because I'm the owners son who watches the store a lot… besides, I can only pick one a month, and you know it's not often I do."

"Please… just once? Make an exception…"

"Please not the puppy eyes… you know I can't stand the puppy eyes…"

Azrael looked away as Lyra put on that same big eyed look she would use whenever he or Recon were being stubborn with her, and after a few more seconds, Azrael put a hand over his eyes and sighed.

"Alright… but just this once… next time you're not getting off easy… just let me scan it…"

"Yay! Thanks Azrael!"

"I hate you sometimes…"

"Well well if it isn't the wonder duo that's been ripping through the qualifiers. What got you into the competition eh Azrael?"

Azrael sighed and turned towards the door as it slid open, Jacob and his cronies walking in.

"Non of your business Jacob. And why are you even here?"

"No reason other than to see if I can spot anything that'll help me in tomorrow's match."

"Oh yeah, you lost the school block qualifier so you entered this one. Forgot."

"Tch. You won't be laughing when my Impulse trashes your Build Strike Freedom tomorrow. I was saving it just for this occasion."

"Oh so you think the result of the battle is gonna be the same as the anime all because you're using that? Well, you're not Shinn, and I'm not Kira. Just because you're using the Impulse doesn't mean you can beat the Strike Freedom so easily."

"Say that after I finally settle our score."

"Yeah… that'll be a laugh. You won't find anything to help you… not here… I'd suggest watching feeds from my past battles if you want help… my last opponent put up a much better fight than you do… so I'm a little surprised you made it to the finals… guess you got the rookies."

"Ah shut up Azrael! We'll see how long that smirk of yours lasts once I win! Boys, let's go!"

Azrael growled as Jacob left, clenching his fist.

"What is it with him? Why does he hate you so much?"

"You remember when we were gowing up, how Michael always liked to brag that he was better than me… well, once I got into Gunpla battle, I finally found something I could beat him at. He's a sore loser, so he doesn't like accepting that I whip him each time… but this time, I'm going in with something new… that, and after fighting Ricardo Fellini, I've managed to brush up my techniques a bit more. So, you wanna start building the SD Legilis now or wait?"

"I'll start after the qualifier. I want to build it myself… and… I also want to surprise Recon with what I did when he wakes up… hopefully he'll be back after tomorrow…"

Azrael sighed with a small chuckle. It was no secret to him Lyra had a bit of a crush on Recon. After the accident, Lyra had been in tears for quite a while before she offered to be Azrael's support.

"Heh… I wish he'd wake up in time so that he could watch my Strike Freedom whip Michael's Impulse in the finals… but, guess we'll have to show him a recording. Alright, but don't be afraid to ask me anything you need for help with the build. After all, that's what friends are for."

Lyra nodded and left after the box was scanned so that it wouldn't set off the alarm, and Azrael sat down behind the counter, looking at his sketchbook and then the picture on the counter of him with his parents in front of the Strike City Mega Arena… the place where the Nationals were held each year.

"Hmph… I'm gonna make it there dad… I'll make it to the end… promise."

**Qualifier Final Match**

Azrael walked through the doors into the arena, which was set up for the last match, Jacob waiting with a smug grin on the other end as Azrael moved to his spot.

"Hope you're ready Azrael. This is where we end it!"

"And I'm pretty sure you don't mean that…"

"_Set your GP Base… Beginning Plavsky Particle Dispersal…"_

The field that generated was blazing ruin of a city, a rather fitting setting.

"_Please, set your Gunpla…"_

"Azrael Venator, Build Strike Freedom. Let's go!"

"Jacob Marken, Sword Impulse Gundam Custom. Let's roll!"

Azrael shot out into the ruins, stopping at a corner and looking past it.

"The Sword Impulse is a close range type Mobile Suit, so I have the advantage of distance. But I need to be careful… it has two anti-ship level swords… and in this environment, Jacob has an advantage…"

Azrael carefully moved out of his cover, his blasters ready as he moved through the rubble strewn streets until his alert went off.

"Above!?"

Azrael looked up, spotting the Sword Impulse charging down with a sword ready, and he shot back, the blade crashing into the spot where he'd been, the dust only showing the modified Blade Impusle's silhouette and it's gleaming green eyes as it rose up.

"Lucky dodge Azrael! But don't think I'll let up! I have the advantage now!"

Azrael quickly pulled out a beam saber as Jacob charged, blocking the large blade and dashing back again, firing with the other rifle in hand, only for his shots to be blocked by the sword. The next sword swing cut through the beam saber, raking the armor on the Build Strike Freedoms chest, but luckily just barely, and the exchange went on for a bit more, the buildings around the two getting wrecked.

"Darn… beam weapons won't help against that blade. Tactical Arms!"

Azrael stroed the beam saber and deployed the Tactical Arms in Vulcan Form, opening fire. Jacob shot down one of the roads, his blade raking the ground as he moved to get Azrael from behind.

"Ha! I can't believe you fell for that!"

"So you're up above huh? Well, you always did like looking down on your opponents."

"You're wrong on that point. In case you never noticed, I offer nothing but friendly advice. Now, are we gonna keep talking or fight for real!?"

"Heh, now you're talking!"

Jacob shot up with his blade ready, and Azrael switched the Tactical Arms to sword mode, the blades colliding. The two dashed around the area as they continually clashed and separated, neither getting many hits in on the other, though the damage done to the Build Strike Freedom was catching up to it. The Impulse rushed forward again, and Azrael went for a dodge, but one of the wings was severed halfway, and he went crashing down due to the balance being cut off.

'He's way tougher than before! Was Jacob holding back or something? Or is he finally fighting me seriously? All I can do is… Wait… goddammit I'm acting like Kira! Screw just using my sword! I have much better firepower than him!'

Azrael gritted his teeth as the Build Strike Freedom rose up.

'Good thing I have both plasma cannons, or else this won't work.'

Azrael dashed down to the ground and took off, the Impulse on his tail as he was eventually cornered turning around.

"So you're in a corner. Ready to give up?"

Jacob raised the Excalibur, and he noticeably flinched a bit when Azrael took aim his remaining weapons.

"No. I'm just not going to make the same mistake Kira did when he fought the Impulse like this!"

Azrael punctuated his sentence by firing the hip mounted beam Vulcans and deploying his remaining DRAGOONs, the beams colliding with the anti-ship sword heavily.

"W-what the hell!?"

"I have to applaud you for damaging the Build Strike Freedom like this, you really have improved! I can tell the tougher battles here helped you out. But you were too busy thinking that this was the Impulse vs. Freedom fight from Gundam SEED. Well this isn't the Gundam universe Jacob! This is our world… and here… the Freedom wins! FULL BURST!"

The collective fire slammed into the Excalibur blade, ripping it from the Blade Impulse's grasp and blasting an arm and the legs, making the blade crash into the ground near Azrael. As Jacob went for his second Excalibur, Azrael shot down the street at full speed, grabbing the Excalibur and letting out a yell as activated the full beam, shoving the blade through the middle of the Phase Shift Armor, right were the reactor would be, taking off as best he could and getting a distance away as the massive explosion blasted out, the fiery light shadowing the Build Strike Freedom over, making a rather threatening silhouette.

"_Battle Over"_

"The winner of the America 2nd Block Qualifiers and the 2nd Block Representative for the National Tournament is Azrael Venator!"

Azael was panting as the field closed and Jacob had a shocked look on his face, and Azrael looked up to see his Gunpla.

'Build Strike Freedom… thank you… for getting me this far… sorry for pushing you today… and now, you're gonna help make something that can compete at the World Level… the Gunpla that's been waiting to get out…'

**Azrael's Room**

"No… merging the armor types won't work because of the different frames… but then how am I going to give the 00 Frontier phase shift armor? Man… combining Cosmic Era and Anno Domini designs is hard… will I be able to pull it off? The 00 Raiser has better performance… but… ggh… man this is tricky… but I can do it… I have a month until Nationals so I have to bust my case to do this. Just because it's Nationals doesn't mean I shouldn't be careful… I could wind up going against fighters who have participated in the world tournament…"

Azrael closed his eyes and flopped back on his bed, letting images from fights he'd watched flash through his mind of fighters he could possibly fight in the Nationals, though the two most prominent ones had to be Greco Logan and Nils Nielson, Nils especially.

"The Particle Fa Jin technique he uses with his Sengoku Astray… it's why I want to try and implement Phase Shift Armor to stop his physical attacks since he doesn't use beam attacks, but I'd have to look out for the Particle Fa Jin anyway since it works by pushing particles into the enemy to destroy them from the inside. Ngh… sheesh… I have my sketches done at least."

Azrael sat up and looked at the two Gunpla on his desk, the 00 Raiser by the Build Strike Freedom. Two different timelines, two different Gundams. Would it really be possible to combine these two generations and create a totally unique Gunpla like he planned… then again, Azrael remembered he'd seen it all over the place in Gunpla. Generation or timeline didn't matter… something his father had always told him was itching at the back of Azrael's brain, but he just couldn't remember what it was.

"I need to cool my head…"

Azrael sat up and trotted down the stairs heading out within a moment to lose. Hopefully a walk would clear his head… and if not, well, hopefully he could get some help.


	8. Flow of imagination!

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 7: Flow of imagination!**

"GWAGH!"

Azrael tumbled out of his bed with a yelp, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Owwww… man I had another one of those dreams…"

Azrael grumbled as he sat up. He would occasionally have these dreams where he was piloting a Gupla he was building at whatever time, garbed is Asemu Asuno's casual outfit from Gundam AGE, only to have some part of it come off, usually the pieces he wasn't done with, then get blasted by the grunt mobile suits, except this time it had involved the still in progress 00 Frontier build which was nowhere _near _finished, well, it's propulsion and combat systems anyway.

"Yeesh… I've been stumped on the build since I got the main body done… arms, legs, torso, and head, easy as pie… but the propulsion system and the combat systems… GYAGH! Why can't I get it right!?"

Azrael slammed his hands onto his head as he flopped back onto his bed, images rushing though his head.

"No… If I want to use Trans-AM I need the Raiser so the Strike Freedom's wings are a total bust in the design, I can't even put on one pair… SEED mode is also a bust due to Trans-AM… man, it's more like I'm just giving the 00 Raiser Phase Shift Armor more than anything else… unless is somehow fit the energy stabilizing feature of the Raiser into the Freedom Wings… but how would I manage that? Maybe if I remove the main body of the Raiser and leave the stabilizing units… but what if it's to back heavy? Would I have to lower the number of wings on the back then? Hagh… I dunno I'll have to give it a try…"

Azrael kept mumbling about ideas as he went about his morning routine. This had been racking his brain for the past two weeks as he tried to solve this, and with the Nationals approaching, he was drawn for time, and any battles were being done with his Destiny Gundam Custom now, since the Freedom Azrael was also being used in the building, albeit not by much, more as a reference for some things, so Azrael couldn't afford to have it damaged.

"I dunno… the Voiture Lumiere Wings of the Sky is pretty helpful, not to mention fast. I managed to get into a chase with Ricardo Fellini's Fenice Rinascita and keep up with it even though I was the one being chased… if only for a while… and if I combined the system with Trans-AM then my mobility would be through the roof, but the main question is would I be able to control it at that speed?"

Jesse chuckled as Azrael kept mumbling as he moved around. He was in building mode and there was no way he'd snap out of it with the pace he was in.

'Just like his father. Get them going and nothing will stop them.'

**After School**

"Uh… Recon, is something wrong with Azrael?"

Recon lifted an eyebrow at Lyra's question, leaning a bit more on his crutch sine his leg was still healing.

"What d'ya mean by that?"

"He's been mumbling to himself all day, and he's been messing with the designs in his sketchbook like crazy. I swear that 00 Frontier is taking up more and more of his time each day."

Recon laughed quietly. Lyra was right, even after school on the walk back Azrael was in his work mode.

"Well, he is building a Gunpla that can fight in the world tournament, and considering the picture I saw of the condition his Build Strike Freedom was in after he fought Ricardo Fellini he'd have to work hard if he wants to get to World Level skills. He's good, the best in the city, but best in the country? That has yet to be proven, but even then, he's gonna be facing people like Greco Logan or Nils Nielson even in the Nationals, so I can't blame him. He's got two weeks until the Nationals start, and in that time he has to finish this Gunpla and practice with it."

"So what you're saying is he's on a deadline and is anxious?"

"If you want to put it simply yes… But, we need to snap him out of this funk or else he'll never finish in time. When Azrael get's like this, it's usually for a long project, but he doesn't have the time he needs for that. But what could we do?"

Lyra gained a thoughtful look for a second, then a light bulb came on in her head.

"I know! I got a Gunpla not that long ago and I finally managed to finish it! I was waiting until you were back on your feet so I could show you, but, I think Azrael should see it as soon as possible to. It might be the way we can snap him out of this!"

"Whoa, hold on, after all these years you _finally _decide to build a Gunpla? After I've been trying to get you to do that since we were old enough to start building the things ourselves!?"

"I just wasn't interested until now Recon! Besides, I kinda understand what it's like for you and Azrael when you build them now. I mean, without Gunpla Battle, I only saw them as pointless. I mean, why build it when it's only going to go on a shelf? But now… I get it. It's the work you put into it that makes it worthwhile, and since Gunpla Battle exists, we can finally show what our creations are worth."

Recon had a curious look, and that lead to more laughs.

"Man Lyra, I never thought you'd be the philosophical types. You went _way _too deep into this! Azrael and I play Gunpla because it's fun, that's why we can take it seriously. We're not risking our lives or fighting for bull crap political reasons, we're fighting because it's fun. Azrael? Well, he fights to test himself. Me? Heh, I fight for the sole _fact _Gunpla is fun."

"Way to ruin my theory that I put a lot of thought into."

"Hehehe… sorry… I was just being honest."

"Well maybe you shouldn't be so honest all the time with stuff like that! Hmph! C'mon Azrael we're all headed to my place!"

Lyra stalked off with a huff, taking the lead, grabbing Azrael by his shirt and pulling him along.

"Wha!? Lyra what the heck are you doing!? RECON WHAT DID YOU SAY THIS TIME!?"

"Ugh… what _did _I say?"

Recon tapped his jaw a bit, shrugging and following the other two as Azrael flailed about, protesting as much as he could.

**Lyra's House**

The boys were aweing in amazement at what Lyra had done with her SD Legilis, letting out amazed gasps at the sigh. Since SD Models didn't have much room for customization, the extra parts that were added on by Lyra came from other things that she knew could possibly react with Plavsky particles. This SD looked rather similar to the original in base design, though it used the detailed eyes instead of the blank ones, and Lyra had given it her own colors of a deep rose red as the primary color with light pink as an accent, and Lyra had replaced the head fins with black cat ears, and even the tail blaster looked cat like, along with whisker marks on the faceplate. All in all, this Gunpla reflected her personal tastes perfectly.

"Wow! This looks so cool Lyra! How did you manage to put it together like this?"

"That's what I wanna know! You'd have to make some alterations to make the cat ears work, let alone the tail would be hard enough! It looks like someone with my skill level made it!"

Lyra chuckled with a blush as her friends wowed at her creation.

"Well, I put quite a lot of time into this over the past couple of weeks. I actually fit the cat ears over the head fins and used a special glue to keep them in place, and the tail, well, that's more a decoration than anything. I couldn't work in the blaster, but I love it the way it is. So, I formally introduce you guys to the SD Legilis Neko!"

"Hahaha! Cool Lyra! You even put cat claws on its shield blaster! I didn't even know you could do that!"

"Uh, Recon, you do remember I managed to articulate my Destiny Gundam's wings right? That was tough."

"Yeah but that's not like this! You stay uniform in your designs most of the time, but Lyra went full out personalized! I mean, _look at it! _A Builder with your skill level should easily be able to tell that Azrael!"

Azrael's eyes widened and he looked at the Gunpla again. Recon was completely right, as even his Akatsuki was like that. Azrael merely just gave the Gunpla he made a personal color scheme and new load outs, never really altering much, but Lyra had gone full stop. True there wasn't much she could do with the weapons, but this was a Gunpla all her own. Maybe that's what Azrael had been forgetting when building the 00 Frontier, the fact that Gunpla is only as limited as your imagination. It didn't matter what series or even timeline and technology the models came from, two models could be used to create something completely unique to the Builder… examples the Wing Gundam Fenice Rinascita, the Sengoku Astray, and the Build Strike series which reflected the Builder themselves in some way.

'That's what I'm trying to aim for with the 00 Frontier… but my uniform fashion of building was holding me back. All I have to do is do what _I _want to do. Heck, I've seen some pretty odd looking Gunpla at the Strikecenter, but all of them were built with only one thought: What do I want my Gunpla to be? And just from seeing this, I think I have my answer. I want my Gunpla to be my own! I want it to bring together my favorite timelines and create something the world has never seen!"

"Guys I gotta go! I just got an idea!"

Azrael quickly grabbed his bags and ran out, leaving the other two with smirks on their faces.

"Told ya it'd work."

"Man you guys are dorks."

"Hey you're the one who added cat ears to a Legilis! Even if it is an SD version that's still pretty out there."

"Oh please Mr. "My Akatsuki has a ton of hidden systems."

And with that yet another one of the twos famous, ever pointless arguments began.

**A couple days later**

"Hehehe! Lyra, Recon, say hello to the finished 00 Frontier!"

Azrael pulled out the Gunpla and placed it on the counter in front of his friends, whose eyes widened at the sight of it. Of course, the 00 Frontier had Azrael's signature black and red color scheme, but it even had some dashes of blue now. Its armor was mostly similar to the original 00's, but some parts were a bit bulkier, specifically the legs and arms, showing traces of influence from the Strike Freedom. The shoulders had the twin GN-Drives with the stabilizer units from the Raiser, but its backpack was different. Instead of being the main body of the Raiser, it was the wing setup from the Strike Freedom, but with some alterations so that it wouldn't get in the way of the energy stabilizers when the shifted. It was outfitted with the GN Sword III and with GN Blades on the hips in place of the Vulcans, and in the left hand was one of the Strike Freedom's beam rifles, but modified with a reinforced barrel.

"Ni-i-ice! And you managed to finish it in three weeks tops! I'd say that's a new personal record after the month long Build Strike Freedom."

"Ehehehe… well, I have to thank Lyra for this. I was so stumped I'd forgotten that there's really no limit to what you can do with these."

"Heh, I'm glad I could help. Now let's see this thing at work! I bet it's gonna be awesome!"

Lyra stopped for a second when the boys directed weird looks at her.

"Did she…"

"I'm not going crazy am I?"

"Oh deal with it you two!"

Azrael and Recon just laughed, and soon Lyra caught on to it and all three were busting their guts. After they managed to calm down, they all went into the battle room.

"Azrael Venator. Rage on, 00 Frontier!"

Azrael shot out into the desert setting as the computers came up, smirking as he readied the GN Sword, bursting forward and bisecting the closest enemy, blasting the next one with his beam rifle and then taking off as beam fire came at him.

"Hmm, for a new high performance model he's doing pretty well on the first go."

"Well, he did build it for himself. Just look at him, he's obviously having fun."

"Yep. Man, when you see it in front of an explosion the Frontier really does look like an angel in shape. Now that's a Gunpla that fits his moniker. But, I wonder how the Trans-AM will work, if he's calibrated it that is."

Azrael dodged some more fire before skidding to a stop on the ground, the emeines closing in.

"Hmm… let's give it a try. Rage on, Gundam! Trans-AM!"

Once the slot was hit, the 00 Frontier lifted its blade, and its twin GN Drives spun faster until the entire Gunpla was glowing bright red. Azrael shot off to the side to dodge, but something happened: He was going way to fast. Azrael struggled to balance himself out, but he wound up ringing himself out instead, Recon barely managing to catch the 00 Frontier.

"What… just… happened?"

Azrael stood there in shock as he lowered his arms.

'It was so fast! I'm used to high speed fighting, but… that was just ridiculous! At three times the normal speed I go I lost control! Did I calibrate it wrong? Was something out of line? Or…"

"SNAP OUT OF IT MAN!"

Recon smacked Azrael on the back of the head, and Azrael had to put his hands on the battle system to stop himself.

"What was that for Recon!?"

"Dude, calm down. Okay, so you messed up on your first try. It doesn't mean anything's wrong with the Gunpla, it's practically perfect. What the problem is Azrael, is _you. _You aren't used to that kind of speed or power output, you don't have the skill level right now."

Azrael looked down, pulling up his goggles and letting out a sigh.

"Then what hope do I have if I can't make use of Trans-AM? With the opponents I'll be facing I'll need it as a last resort. I mean, controlling the 00 Frontier normally is easy. It's always easy to control a Gunpla you build yourself if you have good controls skills like we do, but…"

Recon smacked Azrael on the head again, and Lyra sighed.

"Time for their good ol' Blitz Training."

"Cool it man! You just need practice! And remember, those were dumb AI's, so of _course _it was easy Azrael! You know I've always been better at analyzing fights, and I had a few things to say on the way you were moving. It's a new world level Gunpla you're not used to bud, and we've got a week before Nationals, so it's time for the Blitz Training to return in full force!"

"What!? You're gonna put me through _that _again!? Dude last time we did Blitz Training I passed out! Do you _know _what happens when you start applying military training methods to Gunpla Battle? Bad things happen!"

"Hey, my dad's a drill sergeant! You want me to call him in for this? Cause he'd be more than happy to whip you into shape for this. Be it military rookies or even a kid in Gunpla Battle, he's _sure _to get them going at their best!"

"I hate you sometimes."

Recon chuckled and put an arm across Azrael's shoulders, holding up the 00 Frontier.

"This'll get ya' far buddy. I can't wait to see what it's capable of myself."

Azrael sighed heavily but cracked a grin, and Lyra rolled her eyes at the boys antics.

"Just like old times."


	9. The Nationals Begin

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 8: The Nationals Begin**

**Azrael's room/Early Morning**

Recon slowly opened the door to Azrael's room, creeping up on the other boy, a whistle in his mouth.

"Time to get up Azrael…"

Recon took in a breath and blew on the whistle hard, a shrill shriek coming out of it, and Azrael's eyes snapped open, the boy shooting up.

"Wha- what the heck is going on!? What time is it?"

Azrael checked the Haro shaped alarm clock he had and groaned.

"Why… why the hell did you get me up at five o'clock in the morning Recon!?"

Azrael had a hard glare on his face as he turned to the laughing Recon.

"It's time for the Blitz Training! Up and at em! Get the 00 Frontier and let's get started!"

"We have six days until the Nationals, Recon… can't this wait?"

"NOPE!"

Recon grabbed Azrael and pulled him out of his bed hard.

"We need to get your battle skills to top notch if you want to stand a chance against world level opponents! We're gonna work from the ground up based on your current level! Get dressed and let's go!"

"Alright alright… cool your jets Drill Sergeant Nasty."

Azrael yawned as he stood up. Recon left and headed down to the battle room to wait. When Azrael finally got down, he had the 00 Frontier in hand, and the two set up the battle without many words, the stage forming as a snowy mountainside amid a blizzard, the battle set to practice mode, and the two Gunplas blazed out onto the field, stopping not far from each other.

"Alright Recon, tell me, what flaws that you feel need to be beat out of me huh?"

"Well… for one…"

Recon lifted his beam rifle and fired a shot. Azrael flinched and moved, but the shot still grazed him.

"The heck? I shouldn't have been hit by that."

"See, your reactions are as fast as always, but at the same time they aren't. I believe it may have to do with the fact you've combined two of the highest performance Mobile Suits in Gundam history, and your skills aren't quite up to par with it. Yet, anyway."

"Sooo… you're saying that the reason I lost control when I used Trans-AM was because my control skills aren't up to par with world level yet? What about you? We were perfectly matched when I used the Build Strike Freedom."

"Less talking, more bashing!"

Recon shot forward, beam saber in hand, and Azrael whipped out his own beam saber as fast as he could, getting it just short of the last second. The main challenge that was present in this training, other than the fact the 00 Frontier was a bit too high spec for Azrael to control quickly enough when reacting to a live opponent, as proven by his close shaves, but the fact Recon also knew his fighting style as well as Azrael did his. The two had pretty much grown up battling each other, and so the fact their fighting styles were as familiar to each other as night and day made things fun, yeah, but in this case, it was frustrating when every move couldn't even hit. This back and forth training of refining Azrael's reaction speed went on for _hours, _the two going between stages to change the environment and conditions: From an asteroid field in space, a ruined city on fire, an active volcano, and even a collapsing colony, Azrael was being put to the test in various situations, both as a test of his Gunpla, and a way to get his skills up.

'This is Blitz Training for ya. Push yourself to your limits to improve your skills in all kinds of situations. Man… you really know how to make people work Recon.'

When a break finally came at lunch, Azrael was flat out exhausted and Recon was breathing heavily, both collapsed against the wall.

"Well… you are catching up to your machine finally… we still have the whole week of training."

"Pah… I have to thank practice mode for sparing me from having to make extensive repairs. Man that's tiring… and you want me to keep that up all week? I still haven't even got the Trans AM speed down…"

"You'll get it… I mean, even the best Gundam pilot's needed practice."

"Yeah I see your point. You don't just have the skills of an ace pilot. But I only have less than a week now… how am I gonna get to world level skill in that time even with this psycho training? I mean, I battled Ricardo Fellini, one of the best Gunpla Fighters in the world, and I only held out for a few minutes thanks to speed!"

Recon sighed at Azrael's near desperation. Typical first timer stress.

"Well, unless you want to fight opponents who can really test you I guess not. I mean, you did say you don't fight to compete one time, but to test your own skills as a pilot and builder. Am I right or am I wrong?"

Azrael looked down and put a hand over his eyes. Recon was right. He did want to test himself. He hadn't entered the qualifier for himself out of competitive drive, it was because his friend had wanted it, but had been injured and so, drove him to it at the same time. And after fighting Ricardo, he finally got that spark that had set him off on Gunpla Battle in the first place. Seeing how he could square up against people with skills like that thrilled him. Those battles were fun even if he wasn't trying to be competitive.

"Alright. Once we eat and I make repairs, we're gonna keep going. I'm not stopping until I can match up with the Gunpla I built. It's my creation, and I should know how to use it against strong opponents. And I _will _get a handle on Trans AM, that's assured."

"Hahaha! There's that fire in your eyes! Alright Azrael, six days more of this! Just don't collapse this time."

"Heh, I won't."

The two nodded their affirmation of this. Like when they first began, it was time to work harder than anything else.

**Strike City Arena/First Day of the Nationals**

"Phew! We made it on time!"

Azrael slumped against the wall at the entrance of the arena, Recon and Lyra close behind.

"Man… even after getting a ride from your mom we still had to run…"

"Well that's your guys' fault for staying up late training!"

"Hey, at least we managed it! Thank god I managed to make the needed repairs in time. I gotta head to the locker room! I'll see you guys after my match!"

Azrael ran off with a wave, thoughts racing through his head.

'In this tournament I'll be facing the best Battlers in America from both the school tournaments and qualifiers, thirty one more people in all. All of them are gonna be tough, even world level tough. We'll see how I square up in this first round. Don't worry guys, I can do this!'

**Arena Center/Round 1 Match 7**

"Finally time for Azrael's match huh?"

"Yep. Can't wait to see the results of his training."

Lyra chuckled and rolled her eyes as she and Recon found a seat in the nearly packed arena. All sorts of people were watching, and who knew how many more were watching the live broadcast. Up in the more expenisve section away from the crowds, Ricardo and Greco were looking down at the arena.

"So Ricardo, you say that this kid who's gonna be fighting is skilled?"

"Well when I fought him he lost kinda quickly, but, he's got a lot of raw talent. He actually outran me for a while. Let's hope he can handle himself."

"His opponent isn't too shabby either, the Alaska regional winner."

"Well I wouldn't underestimate him. People can change after a while."

Greco nodded to Ricardo's statement, and the announcers finally began speaking.

"Welcome ladies and gents to the seventh match of the American Nationals Tournament! Once again, I'm Leroy Harvey here with Jecht Markov! Jecht, who are our fighters for this round?"

"Well, the first contestant is one many of you may know as the Alaskan beauty! Kyrie Kolavsky! As a straight winner and even a tournament vet, we can expect to see a lot from her this match."

"Well said! And here she is now! The raven haired jewel of the north!"

In the arena below, the classic fireworks broke out on one end, and raven haired women garbed in a white coat and all walked out with a wave, the crowd cheering as her equally black eyes scanned around as she made her way to the battle system in the center of the room.

"As regal and beautiful as ever! And her opponent is someone you Strike City residents should know well! A tournament rookie but praised battler and builder! The one hailed as the Archangel of Gunpla Battle! Azrael Venator!"

Azrael himself was greeted with dozens of cheers, and Recon and Lyra were practically killing their lungs as he walked out.

"A boy? Hmph, this match should be easy."

"Well, I never did expect my opponent to be someone like you Ms. Kolavsky. But don't underestimate me because of my age."

"We'll see."

The two set their GP Bases, and the field generated a blizzard strewn tundra, the ideal environment for Kyries Gunpla. Up above, Ricardo made note of this.

"He's gonna have a tough time. A stage like that is perfect for an ambush oriented fighter like Kyrie."

The one thing that stood out even more to Ricardo however when he finally noticed it, was the 00 Frontier Azrael placed.

"Ricardo, have you ever seen a machine like that?"

"No… it's a mash kit, but at the same time… it's completely unique. That Gunpla is something else entirely."

Azrael snickered as thing started.

"Azrael Venator, 00 Frontier. Rage on!"

The 00 Frontier tore down the rail, bursting out into the snow covered landscape, taking flight immediately, the crowd aweing at the machine in flight.

'Alright… Kyrie is an ambush fighter. So this blizzard is the perfect setting for her. But first, what'll she attack with? A direct strike? Funnels? Hmm… might want to assume both situations.'

Azrael deployed his DRAGOONs, the drones quickly vanishing into the blizzard, though he still had a sight on them each.

"That was a bad move kid!"

Kyrie's Gunpla, a pure white Sazabi, shot out from the blizzard and attacked with a beam enhanced kick. Azrael shifted one of his wings and used the built in GN shield on the equalizer that was being aimed at to stop the attack dead.

"Sorry, but that's not gonna work."

"An anti-beam coating on the shield?! Man this kid's rescourcful."

"By the way, look behind you."

Azrael snickered, and Kyrie shot around, just in time to get blasted by a DRAGOON, one of the Sazabi's arms flying off, and Azrael dashed back, firing with his beam rifle and GN Rifle as the other DRAGOONS began to swoop in, and Kyrie dodged the fire that came in, getting a few grazes here and there.

"How did he manage to plan this out so quickly!?"

"If someone attacks with ambushes, then set up your own to catch them by surprise! Now fly through this storm Frontier! Let's show everyone what we're made of! Engage Voiture Lumiere Wings of the Sky!"

The sky blue energy shot from the DRAGOON wings, and Azrael took off, leaving a path through the blizzard, and he engaged his GN Sword as he started a steep dive, cutting off and blasting forward.

"A frontal attack? Heh, you may have these DRAGOONs but I set up my own trap!"

"Doesn't surprise me!"

As the white funnels began to appear and fire, Azrael swooped between the storm of beams, using the DRAGOONs to eliminate them. Kyrie flinched and raised her beam rifle, firing forward, though her fire was dodged or reflected.

"Haha! The Archangel is back!"

"Go get her Azrael!"

Recon and Lyra shot up with their cheers. Azrael grinned as the exchange continued, finally managing to close in at an alarming rate to his opponent.

"This is it! This is what my Gunpla can do! Go!"

Azrael blazed forward, the blade of the GN Sword glowing from the particles. He swung down once he close enough, raking the blade through the Sazabi's torso, dashing off as it began to spark, and the DRAGOONs returned to their wings as the Sazabi exploded, and the GN Sword folded up as Azrael raised the Gunpla's arm, and the crowd broke out cheering.

"Amazing! Such a display of speed, skill and planning! That was mind blowing!"

"He beat her in a record time! Incredible!"

Ricardo and Greco looked on with widened eyes as Azrael cheered happily down below.

"Incredible. He beat Kolavsky with such ease, he even countered her strategy… and his speed, it's amazing."

Greco looked at Ricardo in surprise when the Italian Champ started laughing.

"He managed to do it! He made a Gunpla that can compete on the world level! And his skills with it, it's like he was in perfect synch with the machine! Boy he'll be fun to fight eh Greco? After all, you and him are in the same bracket end!"

Greco chuckled at that, crossing his arms.

"If he makes it that far. But, from what we just saw, I don't doubt this kid could make it to the end. He'll be an interesting challenge. And who knows what else that Gunpla can do?"

"Hmm, yes. We'll have to watch him."

Ricardo was smiling at the thought of possibly facing Azrael again. Someone with his talent… well, he seemed a lot like Reiji, a fighter who had been on par with Ricardo.

"Yep, he's gonna go far with that Gunpla."

Azrael's smile, to say the least, was ear to ear. He turned around as Recon and Lyra rushed down to the edge of the stands to meet him, their own stupid grins present, and he gave them a double thumbs up.

'That's what I can do now! Finally I can test myself to my limits! With the 00 Frontier, I _will _make it to the World Tournament!'


	10. A mysterious person

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 9: A mysterious person**

**American Nationals Round 2, Match 4**

Azrael dashed to a stop behind a building, looking behind it just in case. His opponent in this round was using a Blitz Gundam, so he had to be careful.

"With that Mirage Colloid system they can easily sneak up on me. I need to stay on my guard…"

He looked around a bit to see if he could possibly spot a faint shimmer in the air, a dead giveaway to the stealth system when it was in the light. The warning alarm finally went off, and Azrael shot around with his GN Sword ready.

"Wrong way!"

The custom colored Blitz came into sight behind Azrael, aiming to get him from behind, and Azrael growled. Their two weapons met in a clash of sparks, and the Blitz jumped back, going into stealth again. Azrael deployed his DRAGOONs and took off, landing on a roof.

"Where are you at now?"

One of the DRAGOONs went down, and Azrael fired his beam rifle in that direction. The shot missed, as he expected, and he kept on moving, but the rest of the DRAGOONs went down.

"Darn it, he's using the fact they can't see him to take out the DRAGOONs. Now, guess it's just me and you."

"Now I've got you!"

The Blitz appeared in the air behind Azrae' again, aiming it's blade launcher right at his back.

"Trans AM!"

The 00 Frontier glowed bright red and moved out of the way, shooting up.

"Man, didn't think I'd have to pull out this system so early… but I guess I don't have a choice. Activate GN Wings of the Sky!"

The Blitz's fighter raised an eyebrow in confusion. The normally blue Wings of the Sky vanished, and then shot out again, much larger, but this time, they were glowing with the same red as the Trans AM particles, and the crowd let out surprised gasps.

"Recon, what is that?"

"It's a system Azrael set up by combining Trans AM with Voiture Lumiere. By adding GN particles to Voiture Lumiere particles, he can moved at much faster speeds than normal. You wouldn't believe how many times he threw himself out of the field when he was testing it. But I didn't think he'd have to pull it out so early in the tournament. Goes to show how tough his opponents are.

"Alright Frontier… let's go!"

The wings on the 00 Frontier seemed to actually flap as he got ready to blast forward, and the Frontier became a red blur as Azrael went and laid the beat down on the Blitz, shooting up again straight above his opponent and charging down with his GN Sword, bringing the blade straight through the Blitz like it was nothing, landing on the streets below and closing the blade as his opponent exploded.

"_Battle Ended"_

"The winner of Match 4 of the American National tournament is Azrael Venator!"

Azrael sighed as he and his opponent shook hands, and he gathered up the DRAGOONs and 00 Frontier, heading up to the players stands up above since he wanted to watch this next match.

"Oi! Kid!"

Azrael perked up and turned around to see Ricardo heading his way.

"Mr. Fellini? What are you doing here?"

"I came here to watch the tournament obviously. I presume you know my ld friend Greco is in this right?"

"Wait you and Greco Logan are friends!?"

"Is it that much of a surprise to you? Ah whatever. But, you're last two matches have been something impressive I must say. You've gone and made yourself a magnificent Gunpla there kid."

"Uh… thanks Mr. Fellini."

"Azrael!"

Azrael turned around to see both his friends rushing towards him with huge smiles on their faces.

"Oh, Recon, Lyra! Took you guys long enough."

"Haha! Dude, that match was killer! Nice to see you've got a hang of the GN Wings of the Sky now!"

"Hey kid, who're these two?"

"Oh. Mr. Fellini, these are my friends Recon and Lyra. Recon, Lyra, meet Ricardo Fellini. He's the one who helped me get the idea for the 00 Frontier with our match."

"Ah so you're his friends! Nice to meet you two!"

"No way! You're seriously _the _Ricardo Fellini! Awesome! So, how long have you known Azrael?"

"Awesome! I actually get to meet the Italian Dandy! Man all my friends are gonna be so jealous!"

Ricardo rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment, and Azrael sighed.

"You get used to them. Trust me."

"Oh I've met some weird people in my days. Well, to answer your question, I actually came here to Strike City to visit my friend Greco, and I heard some rumors about your friend here so I decided to check them out, and boy was I surprised to find out Archangel was a teenager! He's not half bad, and I can only tell he's gotten better."

"Stop embarrassing me… please…"

Ricardo chuckled and the other two laughed, and then the announcement went off for the next match.

"Alright, I've got to watch this one."

Azrael immediately sat down, an intense look of concentration on his face.

"Wondere why he looks so intent to see this match."

"Look at the contestants."

Ricardo gestured to the screen above the arena, and two names were shown, but the one that caught their eyes was "Nils Nielsen".

"Whoa! You mean it's literally Nils Nielsen!? The guy they call "Samurai Boy"? He's in this tournament!?"

"Yep. So it would make sense that Azrael wants to watch this. His fighting style revolves around telegraphed beam attacks and then rushing forward to attacking with a melee attack or quick rushing attacks alone, as I can guess you know."

"Yep… I know well enough, I watched him develop it. And because beam attacks are effectively useless, so he'd have to completely change his fighting style."

Ricardo nodded and the rest of them turned back to the battle, which still hadn't started, but the contestants were moving out. The now eighteen year old Nils was still garbed in his trademark samurai outfit, and he'd definitely grown, being slightly taller than Azrael, who was a bit tall for his age. Azrael folded his hands as the battle began, set on a moon like field. It was Nils' Sengoku Astray versus a rather bulky Heavy Arms custom, and that was saying something since that Gundam was bulky enough as it is.

"Sengoku Astray Gundam, here I come!"

The Sengoku Astray shot out into the field, the Heavy Arms out and ready, launching with an assault of fire. Azrael watched carefully as Nils dodged with minimal amounts of movement, _mikiri _as it was called. To be frank, the match was almost way too quickly. Since the Heavy Arms was long range only, the minute Nils got close, everyone knew it was over. The minute those katanas came down was the minute all was done.

"So fast…"

"I see the Samurai Boy hasn't lost his egde."

Azrael's hands tightened. He knew his normal strategy would be a dud against that. He was already imagining scenarios and in each one, he could find almost no way to win.

'I need to improve even more… faced with him and Greco Logan, I need to change up my weapons and even my fighting style… hmm… what can I do?'

Lyra and Recon let out sighs and Ricardo lifted an eyebrow.

"I know that look. He's getting creative again. He's gonna spend the next while modifying the Frontier, I can tell."

"Well, he did just see a rather quick battle. He will need to do some work. He's a rookie compared to some of us after all."

"I heard that Fellini!"

Ricardo laughed as Azrael sighed and went back to thinking.

**Azrael's Workshop**

Azrael was busy building new weapons for the Frontier, having decided to work on the design more. He was going to implement equipment from the 00 Seven Sword, making a modified version of the weapon pack to work with his own design, replacing his beam rifle with the GN Sword II Blaster, and adding the GN Katars, though the GN Buster sword would have to go so that he could keep the stabilizers, but all in all, he kept to the Seven Sword system, as now the 00 Frontiers main armaments consisted of it's GN Sword III, the GN Sword II Blaster, two GN Beam Sabers, the GN Katars, and it's two GN Blades, the long and short one, so he was just one sword above, and factor in the eight DRAGOONs, he was well armed and ready for just about any situation… mostly.

"I want to come up with a model number fitting to Celestial Beings designations…hmm… GNX-0000 00 Gundam Frontier Seven Sword/G… yep. That works. Hmm… I have to say it's a custom CQB Assault Mobile Suit. Well… this didn't take long at all."

Azrael sighed and leaned back. He'd been hoping he could make it through the tournament with just the basic 00 Frontier… but then again, adding on to one's Gunpla was an important part in giving the Gunpla an identity.

"Against opponents like Ricardo Fellini and Nils Nielsen, I'll need all the weapons I'm skilled with as I can get."

Azrael picked up the Gunpla and went and set on his desk, flopping down on his bed and grabbing the little blue Haro off his shelf, the little computers ears flapping up as he turned it back on. The things had gone from simple model clocks and toys to small computers with a built in AI that could respond and move around, and Azrael had kept this one since he'd been able to get it when he was fourteen, and it was the one friend who was always with him when Lyra and Recon weren't.

"Azrael! Azrael! How are you?"

"Hey Haro… I'm fine… just a little nervous for the upcoming battles… I'm up for some tough fights now."

"Tough! Tough! Tough battles ahead! Strong opponents! But you can do it!"

Azrael laughed a bit. Haro always managed to make him cheer up when he was stressed like this.

"Well, I'm gonna have a tough time, but I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Fun! Fun! Gunpla Battles are fun!"

Haro bounced out of Azrael's hands and started bouncing around on the floor, heading out the open door, and Azrael shot up.

"Crap! I completely forgot I left the door open! Haro get back here!"

"Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"

Haro bounced down the stairs with Azrael in pursuit. The little robot eventually bounced into the store, and Azrael skidded to a stop, tripping and crashing to the floor.

"Ow… dang it Haro how many times have I told you not to run out of my… room…"

Azrael shot up and shot around to the aisle Haro had bounced into, only to spot the little blue robot in the hands of an amazingly cute girl. The girl seemed slightly younger than Azrael, standing a full head shorter than him, so not much taller than Lyra. To be frank, she fit the description of the quiet kid not a lot of people notice in an anime, with light blue hair that bordered on white reaching down to her waist and eyes that matched, and rather plain clothes, being simply a white sundress with a red scarf on her neck, and simple white shoes.

"Is this yours?"

The girl's voice was quiet in tone as well as soft, and Azrael just stood stunned, his face red. The boy quickly shook his head and stood up straight.

"Uh… yeah! Sorry about that! The little guy tends to run off first chance he gets."

"Haro!"

Haro bounced out of the girls hands and back over to Azrael.

"Oh there you are Azrael! I was just about to call you down again!"

Jesse came out from around the corner with her usual smile on her face.

"You did call me down mom? Uh… man… I was so busy finishing the Seven Sword pack for the Frontier I guess I zoned out."

"Zoned out! Zoned out! Azrael zoned out!"

"Haro shut up!"

"Hahaha! You'll have to excuse my son miss. He tends to be a little hot headed."

"I can still hear you mom!"

"Hot headed! Hot headed!"

"You know I'm starting to remember why I turned you off. I seriously need to fix his personality matrix, yeesh."

"The little robot gets his snark from you son, and you know it!"

"He does not!"

"Yes I do!"

Haro bounced up to Azrael's shoulder and the boy sighed, hitting his forehead.

"Anyway, Azrael, can you help her out? I need to go get some things."

Jesse stepped out with a wave, and Azrael crossed his arms.

"Will do. So… uh… what are you looking for?"

The girl seemed to snap back from thinking and shook her head.

"Oh… um… well, I really just came to look around since I was passing through. This is my first time in Strike City so…"

"Really? There's better shops near the main ways… eh whatever. Well, if you want to get a good look at some of the models we got there's the samples I built in the case."

Azrael directed the girl over to the display case so she could look, and she seemed to be scanning every detail.

"You built these yourself?"

"Ehhehe… well, they're just samples so they're not my best. I just built them nicely according to the instructions that's all. If you build the thing yourself it tends to look different based on your skill or if you make any modifications, kinda like the ones I make for myself."

Azrael had that familiar twinkle in his eyes as he rattled on, and the girl gave him a curious glance.

"So you build them for a hobby to?"

"Uh… yeah… my mom and dad are both kinda crazy about this stuff… and I guess I got my enthusiasm from them. Truth be told I'm participating in the Nationals tournament… I've been playing Gunpla Battle for years now but it's my first tourney so… well, I've had to buck up."

'He's in the tournament? Then again… he looks a dead ringer for that kid they call Archangel.'

"Really? How good are you?"

"Not to brag or anything but I'm pretty good. Though I still don't get how I got the nickname Archangel… might have something to do with my preference of winged Gundam…"

The girls eyes widened a bit at the confirmation. A black sedan pulled up across the street, and the girl sighed.

"I have to go… thanks for showing me around a bit."

Azrael raised an eyebrow a bit as the girl left, then shrugged, and he went and sat at the counter, a dumb smile on his face.

"Man she was so cute! Wonder where she's from?"

"Azrael's got a crush!"

Haro made a laughing sound and rolled around, and Azrael growled with a red face.

"No I don't Haro! Besides, what are the odds of her showing up again huh?"

Azrael sighed and started cleaning up while Haro bounced around making quips, and outside in the sedan, the girl was watching, and a man in a business suit with his face shadowed over sat opposite her.

"Lunaria, you know you're not supposed to wander off on your own."

The man's voice was deadly serious, and the girl responded in a deadpan tone.

"Sorry. I just wanted to look around. But, I did find the boy you mentioned… the first timer in the tournament."

"Ah yes him… Azrael Venator, a.k.a, Archangel. He has quite the reputation in this city. So, what were your observations?"

"He doesn't seem like much… but that's just from an initial look."

"Hmm… well, we'll have to let you observe a few of his battles. With the national tournament coming to a close soon, he has three more matches if he can get past these next two."

"I don't doubt he'll make it to the finals… I could tell with just a look…"

"Hahaha… well, from what I've seen there's not a lot special about him. His custom Gunpla don't even manipulate Plavsky particles much… it's all his own skill. I have some footage of his most recent battles you can watch. Understood?"

"Yes sir. I understand."

Lunaria nodded, her gaze not shifting as Azrael was now chasing Haro around the shop rather comically.

'How can somebody like that have such a reputation? So weird…"

**A/N**

**Oh I have plans for this… now, who's looking forward to Azrael/00 Frontier Seven Sword vs. Nils/Sengoku Astray? I already found the music for it!**


	11. Frontier vs Valkyrie

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Music for the 00 Frontier vs. Tallgeese Valkyrie  
watch?v=NWBMLfcPKL4**

**Chapter 10: Frontier vs. Valkyrie**

**American Nationals/ Quarter Finals, Match 2**

"The winner of the American Nationals quarter finals match two is Azrael Venator!"

Azrael sighed as the field closed, looking up at the screen that showed the final blow on replay:

The 00 Frontier swooped down in Trans AM, blasting the enemy Gunpla's arms off with its rifle, then using both its main blades to finish off the enemy with a blazing fast combo of slashes and blasts.

The crowd kept on cheering, and up above Ricardo was laughing, Greco next to him.

"Well, guess you'll be fighting him next eh Greco?"

"Seems so. He's only gotten better now. With all those blades, disarming him is going to be nigh impossible."

"Already thinking of a strategy eh? Well, that's like you."

Greco nodded and the two left, and across the arena in another booth, Lunaria was watching with the man in the suit, her hands behind her back.

"So, what do you think after seeing him fight up front?"

"He's strong… very strong. And he's still getting better. He'll be a challenging opponent… if he can make it to the World Tournament anyway."

"Well, judging by his stats, I'd say he has a good chance, take a look."

The man handed Lunaria a data pad that had a picture of Azrael on it along with his battling stats, which read as this:

Attack Accuracy: 95%

Attack Evasion: 89%

Attack Blocking: 67%

Ground Battle Rating: A

Aerial/Space Battle Rating: S+

"Hmm… it seems space battles are his specialty… I wonder if there's a way to exploit that… then again, after seeing todays battle that would prove difficult."

"Yes. Well, we need to take our leave Lunaria."

Lunaria nodded and took one last look down at Azrael, who was chatting with his friends before turning around and leaving.

**Venator Household**

"Wooohooo! You've made it to the semifinals! Awesome! Next we get to see you fight Greco Logan! It'll be amazing!"

"Amazing! Amazing! It'll be amazing!"

Lyra giggled as Haro bounced around on the counter.

"I'm glad you turned the little guy back on Azrael. I was starting to miss him."

"I missed you too!"

"Oh Haro you're so sweet!"

Azrael and Recon sighed as Lyra started chatting with Haro, a usual thing that would happen when they were kids.

"So, you nervous Azrael?"

"Yeah… The only person I've fought that I could tell was high tier world level was Mr. Fellini, and now I'm facing Greco Logan, someone on a similar level. I have no idea how I'll square up against him. But, that's where the fun of it lies!"

"That's the Azrael I know! Alright, how about we all have a celebratory free for all battle!"

"Recon…"

"I dind't build the SD Legilis Neko for battles Recon. Besides, I don't even know the basics so there's no point."

"Man you're no fun."

"Then a marathon over the week? How about Gundam 00? I have both seasons on DVD."

"Marathon! Marathon!"

Haro flitted over to Azrael again, and the teen smiled.

"I think I'll take the little guy with me from now on."

**Night**

Azrael paused the TV, which was currently half way through episode 13 of Gundam 00, and stood up, wiggling out between Recon and Lyra, snickering a bit when the two sleepers slumped onto each other. Before Haro could say anything, Azrael clamped a hand on the little blue robot and put a hand to his lips.

"Shhh… let them sleep Haro."

Azrael quietly made his way to his room, flicking on the light and closing the door, and Haro bounced up to the bed.

"What are we doing?"

"I'm just checking something Haro… I kinda had an idea for the final matches and worl tournament I was thinking about… now where did I put that jacket? No… no… Aha!"

Azrael stepped back out of the closet with a replica ZAFT red coat from Gundam SEED, and he was a little surprised to see it fit perfectly now after replacing it with his normal button down.

"Guess I finally grew into this thing… so Haro, how do I look?"

Haro was silent for a second and then bounced up.

"Sweet! It looks cool!"

"Hehe… now don't tell Recon or Lyra. I'm gonna surprise them with it during the Semi Final match. I'll just say I packed my spare parts and tools in the back pack and leave the jacket with it."

Haro made a nodding motion and Azrael put the jacket up.

'Alright… things are getting under way… and I'm gonna win this match.'

**American Nationals/ Semi Finals Match One**

Azrael waved off to Recon and Lyra as he dashed off to the locker room, a bag over his shoulder. Once he got there, he quickly replaced swapped his button down for the ZAFT red coat.

"Alright, time for the match. Let's go Haro!"

"Let's go let's go!"

Azrael went and waited out at the tunnel, knowing that the announcers were going to go through their normal routine but even more hyped up since it was the semifinals, and he drew in a breath as the announcers started.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first round of the American Semi Finals! Leroy Harvery here with Jecht Markov! After an exciting month of intense battles we are finally down to our final four competitors! And in this match we have a very exciting match up! Jecht, give the rundown!"

"Of course. In this match we will see Greco Logan, a participator in multiple world tournaments, whose abilities are unquestionable. And, a person those of you here in Strike City know well, Azrael Venator, a first timer on the tournament road but a highly skilled battler himself who blazed his way through this tournament with nary a scratch."

Many people were up in the booths watching this match, and, thanks to Azrael, Recon and Lyra managed to get in themselves and, since Ricardo had found them, the three were watching the match together, Recon and Ricardo chatting animatedly while Lyra tried to act like she didn't know them. Nils was also watching not far from, and across the arena, Lunaria and the mysterious man were there as well.

"Azrael is only seventeen, and yet with the path he's been blazing you'd think he's way more experienced!"

"Age doesn't matter in a battle. I think there's a reason his machine is titled "Frontier". We're gonna get to see it tonight."

The screen above flashed to life with the words "Champion" and "Raging Bull", no doubt in reference to Greco, and with a final flash of the confirmation, the arena lights focused on the farther tunnel and flames exploded up, revealing Greco.

"And here he is! America's mightiest raging bull! But, despite the bold nickname his fighting style subtle and accurate! One of America's mightiest champions, Greco Logan!"

The arena darkened again, and Azrael finally brought out a grin.

"Now, please welcome the challenger from the other side! The local representative of Strike City, the one many call Archangel, and the one who has blazed a path of aggressive amazement throughout this tournament, Azrael Venator!"

After the screen was done with Azrael's spill, the lights flashed onto him quickly, and to say the least, a few people who knew him well took spit takes.

"Woah! Is he wearing that ZAFT red coat he has!"

"I didn't even know he still had it!"

"Whoa! Azrael comes in with a change in personal style as well! Now he is garbed in the signature red coat of ZAFT from Gundam SEED! Incredible!"

"And take a look, he even has a Haro with him. A nice touch."

The two fighters moved to their ends of the arena, unwavering gazes on both ends.

"Well met Archangel… Ricardo told me a bit about you. I've been waiting for the chance to battle with you."

"Well then I see no introduction is needed… then again, I prefer to let my actions speak instead. And I've been anxious for this match as well."

"Excited! Haro is excited!"

Azrael chuckled at Haro's antics, but thankfully the robot stayed put near Azrael, bouncing up and down so it could see what was going on.

"I'm going to say it now… you won't make it past here…"

"I guess it's because you have a reason not to lose? Well, so do I. Which means this match will be all the more interesting. And I'll get there with this."

Azrael pulled out the 00 Frontier and readied it.

"Well then, let's see whose emotions are stronger."

"Bring it!"

"_Please, set your GP Base."_

The field finally set up, and both placed their Gunpla on the stands.

"_Battle Start."_

"Tallgeese Valkyrie, launching!"

"00 Frontier Seven Sword. Rage On!"

The two Gunpla tore down the catapults and launched into the open space, an open ocean surrounded by cliff faces and filled with rock structures.

"So, a battle in the air hmm? Then I have the advantage!"

"I would think again!"

A warning went off suddenly and Azrael pulled up right in time to avoide a full powered blast that tore through multiple sea stacks.

"A full powered blast off the bat. Well, looks like he's serious about this! Alright then! I just have to get close!"

"I won't let that happen!"

Greco kept firing with normal and Azrael dodged with fluid ease, releasing his DRAGOONS to make use of the Wings of the Sky.

"Hmph, those drones of yours won't help you against me!"

"That's what I'm counting on!"

Azrael switched his blasted to sword mode along with whipping out his GN Sword, blazing forward at full speed while the DRAGOONS assaulted the Tallgeese.

"Hmph. Wrong choice."

Greco fired a full burst shot again, obliterating the DRAGOONS, and Azrael was right in it's way, and Azrael smirked.

"Trans AM."

The Frontier burst into it's Trans AM mode and shot upward with it's Trans AM Wings of the Sky active, and Greco looked up, only to see the machine blazing towards him at an alarming speed. Azrael slammed to Tallgeese with his first blade, slicing the shield in half with the first swing, rounding about again.

"You may be fast but you're not making sharp turns!"

"You have no idea what this wings can do! Fly 00 Frontier! Fly to limits of this sky!"

Azrael blazed upwards coming to a stop in front of the fake sun, raising up his GN Sword.

"No way! Is he going to use it!? But he doesn't have the Raiser to balance out the energy!"

Recon watched with wide eyes, and Azrael's smirk grew a bit wider.

"And that's where they're wrong. Let's go! Frontier Sword!"

The GN Blade was coated with energy that burst upwards into a nigh gigantic beam saber, and Azrael shot downwards with the blade held forward.

"You can't dodge with that active! You're finished!"

Greco fired another full burst shot, and the two attacks met, causing red and yellow energy to blast everywhere.

"Whoa! What a display of power! I've never seen anything like this!"

Azrael growled as cracks started forming on his blade.

"Just a little bit longer…"

When the attacks finally dissipated, Azrael's sword shattered, and he grabbed the long GN Blade off his hip and shot down.

"He's still going!? I can't counter it either!"

Azrael closed in and started slashing the Tallgeese with the blades he had left, impaling it with the GN Blades and the GN Katars multiple times each before making a final slash with his GN Sword Blaster, now in his right hand, whipping the weapon to the side as the Tallgeese exploded, and the crowd burst into manic cheers, and Ricardo had absolutely no idea what to do at the moment, and Recon and Lyra were cheering the loudest.

"He did it! He's in the finals!"

"Go Azrael!"

Below, Azrael was shaking hands with Greco.

"Well… I have to admit, you overwhelmed me at the last minute. I have to say, it's been a while since I beaten so badly."

"Ehehehe… I guess I took a hint from Mr. Fellini pretty well. But thanks for the fun battle Mr. Logan. Let's battle again sometime."

"Hahaha… just call me Greco, kid. And, that sounds like a good idea."

Azraael nodded, and Haro was bouncing around.

"We did it! We won!"

Azrael and Greco laughed as the little robot kept celebrating, and up above, Nils had an analytic look.

"He's incredibly fast, faster than the Star Build Strike… and his attack style… it's difficult to get a read on with his speed… but… that massive energy blade he used… hmm… I'll have to resort to the Particle Fa Jin most likely."

Across the way, Lunaria's partner was snickering.

"Truly, that boy is a sight to behold. Speed like that will be hard to beat. But I wonder, how much training did he have to put himself through to master such a machine?"

"Does it matter? Even if he makes it to the world tournament… if he faced me… he'd lose…"

'But… how can he be enjoying this so much? What does he see in this game that puts such a smile on his face and a light in his eyes? But… why do I want to know that anyway? Why does he mystify me so much?'

The man saw the brief shift in Lunaria's expression, and he leaned on his hands.

'So… she's actually cursious about him hmm? Well, the more data we can collect on him the better our chances. There's still one more match ahead anyway. By the time of the World Tournament… we can build a Gunpla that can match his blow for blow and win.'

Below, Azrael was looking up at the booths to where he could see Nils, and he had a determined look on his face.

"So… you're my last obstacle to the World Tournament… bring it on Nils Nielsen… let's test our Gunpla against each other… and see who comes out on top."

**A/N**

**Hehehe… so, who's curious as to the Gunpla Lunaria is gonna wind up using eh? Well, here's a hint, it's also from Gundam 00.**


	12. Before the finals

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 11: Before the finals**

**Azrael's Room**

Azrael snapped awake with a yelp, shooting upright and panting a bit.

"What was with that dream? Ngh… man that was weird… I was… piloting the Frontier… and in the Gundam 00 universe? Ugh… I need to write it down…"

Azrael sat up and pulled a notebook out of his desk. It didn't have a title on it, but, the pages were worn and full of writing, all of them past dreams of a similar nature. Once Azrael found the next blank page, he got to work, and Haro bounced over him.

"Awake! Awake! You're awake!"

"Hey, Haro…"

"What are you doing?"

"Just writing down another one of those dreams I get so that I don't forget it."

"Dream! Dream!"

Azrael chuckled a bit, and his pencil paused as his gaze fell over the 00 Frontier.

'I still need to repair the GN Sword… and considering that when I used the Frontier Sword it shattered I need to reinforce it to be able to handle that much energy for extended periods of time…'

"Hey, Haro…"

"Yep?"

"Wanna help me tune up the Frontier? I need to make some weapon and armor adjustments to it and I could use some help."

"Repairs! Repairs! We'll make repairs!"

Azrael chuckled and tapped Haro's top.

"Yep. We need to fix it up and make it a Gundam that won't lose. I didn't build the Frontier so that it could lose here and now."

"Won't lose! Won't lose!"

"But, we need to start with the GN Sword III first."

Azrael grabbed Haro and the 00 Frontier and moved into his workshop, closing the door.

**Venator Hobby Shop**

"He's what!?"

"Yep. He's been up in his room since this morning working on his Gunpla."

Recon and Lyra sighed, slumping against the counter.

"But the 00 Frontier already seemed so perfect… what more could he do to it?"

"For one, I could reinforce it's weapons and tune it's performance. I need to be at the top of my game to face the Sengoku Astray."

Azrael jumped down the last few steps, still wearing the ZAFT red coat, and Haro was on his shoulder.

"Stronger! Stronger! The 00 Frontier is strong! Strong!"

Azrael set down his Gunpla, and Recon and Lyra stared at it intently.

"It doesn't look any different..."

"Look at it's swords."

Azrael took off the swords and set them out, crossing his arms.

"I reinforced the GN Sword with metal parts from the 00 Raiser Metal Build so that it could withstand the massive energy flow of the Frontier Sword, and all the other blades have increased durability, and the GN Sword Blaster can work in tandem with the GN Sword to help control the Frontier Sword by splitting it in two. I've also modified the DRAGOONS into Sword Bits so they can work with my fighting style more efficiently. The 00 Frontier is a CQB Mobile Suit by design, and so I made all it's weapons fit that. Of course, if I went in without a rifle or two I'd be a sitting duck. I can't always rush in and get close, and Trans AM can only do so much since it's a last resort. And I also improved it's armor to be safe."

"Wow… you're putting a lot of thought into this huh?"

"Well… considering who my opponent is… I'm under a lot of stress if I want to be able to win."

"Stress! Stress!"

"Haro… you're not helping."

Recon hummed a bit, and Lyra had an analytic look, and the two snapped at the same time.

"Alright, we need to take you out and do something fun! Until the finals you are going to take a chance to relax, got it!"

"But… if I'm not practicing then…"

"Nope! You'll be perfectly fine! We are heading out on the town for the week! No arguments, and no objections!"

Recon grabbed Azrael by his coats collar and started dragging him out while the other teen protested. Haro bounced up into Lyra's hands as the girl sighed.

"C'mon, let's go Haro."

"Let's go! Let's go!"

**Downtown**

"Well… so much for your idea of finding something to do."

Azrael mumbled that as he put his arms behind his head, and Recon grumbled.

"Don't blame me or Azrael if we head back. It was your idea in the first place."

"Your idea! Your idea!"

"Shut up you guys…"

The teens kept walking along, Haro bouncing around them, and they stopped when a familiar voice greeted them from behind.

"Well, I haven't seen you three in a while. How've you been?"

"MR. KANADE!?"

All three teens shot around to see the older man grinning at them, and Haro immediately bounced over.

"Hello! Hello!"

"Ah, Haro! Nice to see Azrael decided to turn you back on! Oh yeah, I saw you in the tournament while I was away Azrael! Nice job! Your skills as a builder and fighter have really improved."

"Oh… uh… thanks… I guess…"

"Hmm… Haro, can you tell me how Azrael's been?"

"Azrael's stressed! Azrael's stressed!"

"Well, considering who your next opponent is, I can't blame him. Azrael, have you tried to calm down a bit?"

Azrael just looked to the side and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"That's what we're trying Mr. Kanade… but… well… we're not finding much to do. That's the problem since we grew up here, we've pretty much done everything we could do in this city."

"And obviously anything regarding Gunpla is only going to put him even more on edge… if he's like that before the finals then he won't stand a chance."

"Hmm… it seems you are in quite the pickle…"

"We're in a pickle! We're in a pickle!"

Haro rolled over to Azrael and started bouncing on his foot.

"Snap out of it! Snap out of it!"

"Haro stop it! Hey don't you run off!"

Azrael took off after Haro, and the other three sighed.

"There they go again."

"Hahaha! I remember that would happen all the time when we were little! Azrael would wear himself out trying to catch Haro."

"Hehehe… you three haven't grown up that much, but you certainly have changed."

"HEY!"

Recon and Lyra snapped and started yelling while Mr. Kanade chuckled. Azrael growled as he kept chasing Haro, eventually moving into the rather empty park.

"Man where did Haro go now? Man I really need to reprogram the little guy so he'll keep running off. Huh?"

Azrael looked off one way, and he could see Haro and… the girl from before?!

"What is she doing here? Well… then again, for all I know she might just live in the city… it is a big place. Um… excuse me! Miss!"

Lunaria stood up and turned around, and Haro bounced over to Azrael.

"Azrael! Azrael!"

"Agh… Haro how many times do I have to tell you to stop running off!? If you don't cut it out I'll reprogram your matrix! Got it!?"

"Sorry… sorry…"

"Hagh… why can't I stay mad at you?"

Lunaria was just looking at Azrael with curiosity in her eyes. She really did wonder why he was the way he was. She'd never met somebody so lighthearted.

"Oh… uh, I guess I never properly introduced myself… I'm Azrael Venator, we met at my family's hobby shop a while ago, just in case you may have forgotten…"

"I didn't forget."

"Oh… um… well… uh… I… I never got your name so… could ya' tell me?"

Lunaria looked surprised, and she looked to the side.

'I can't tell him my real name… what should I say? Come on, think of something!'

"Uh… my name… it's… Luna. I'm Luna."

'Great… all I did was shorten my full name.'

"That's a neat name! Kinda like mine! It's actually pretty fitting."

Lunaria looked over to see Azrael with that same smile on his face.

"Luna! Luna!"

Haro's ears flapped repeatedly, and he flitted over to Lunaria.

"Guess he's taken a liking to you already. He, typical Haro. These little guys are friendly to everyone unless you make them act differently."

"Interesting… oh… um… what are you doing out here anyway?"

"Hmm? Oh… well, my best friend dragged me out since I've been stressing about the final match in the Nationals… but I think you might not care much about that. Eheh…"

"And why do you say that?"

Lunaria narrowed her eyes, and Azrael flinched a bit.

"You said the wrong thing! You said the wrong thing!"

"Haro shut up! And… well… uh… it's just… you didn't look too interested in Gunpla… so I assumed…"

"Don't assume things just because of looks!"

"I'm sorry!"

Azrael flinched again and Haro flitted back over to him. Lunaria growled and crossed her arms, looking away with a huff.

"I wanted to ask you something… because… I was watching your past few matches… what… no, _why _do you enjoy Gunpla like you do? I don't get it… how… how does it put a smile on your face?"

"Huh?"

"Don't give me a "huh"! Answer the question!"

"Uh… well, that's an easy one. It's because I like Gunpla. I like it a lot, and, I think it's loads of fun to play."

Lunaria gleaned a bit of a snarl and stalked off, leaving Azrael standing there confused.

"What did I say? Haro, did I say something wrong?"

Azrael looked down at the robot in his hands with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't know! Don't know!"

"Hagh… wait… she said she'd been watching my matches? Awesome! Hahaha!"

"You've got a crush! You've got a crush!"

Haro laughed in a way and Azrael growled.

"Shut it! Don't make me punt you into the fountain!"

Lunaria looked back as Azrael started chasing Haro again, and she sighed.

"How can he… why does he think this darn game is fun? From my experience… there's _nothing _fun about Gunpla…"

"And that's where the difference lies Lunaria… he has different experiences with Gunpla. It's no wonder he piques your curiosity… you want to learn as much about this boy as you can, am I right?"

Lunaria looked back as the suited man who looked after her stepped out a bit, the shadows still hiding his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hehehehe… please, Lunaria, I know what it's like to have an interest in someone… to want to learn everything you can about who they are. Why do you think our corporation brought you in? You piqued our interest with your particular talents, and we wanted to learn more. The boy obviously has an interest in you… perhaps you could use that to help you in the battles to come."

"I'll continue to observe him in tomorrow's match. Then you can build the Gunpla you need to use."

"Good girl. Now, let's go, you've spent enough time wandering around."

Lunaria nodded, taking one last look back at Azrael, who was sitting down and looking up at the sky with Haro in his lap.

"Why do you make me so curious?"

Azrael flopped down onto his back, his eyes locked on a cloud.

"Because it's fun… pfft… AHAHAHAHAHA! Man I was being an idiot… I was stressing out because I was worried about losing than wanting to have fun! I don't want to lose, but, I don't want the battle to be lame either… wow, I can't believe that girl… Luna… would be the one to snap me out of that funk… hahahaha!"

"No lame fight! No lame fight! Battles are fun! Battles are fun!"

"Yep… exactly Haro… Gunpla battles are fun… it's why we take them seriously… no one's gonna die, there's no political crap, and the fate of the world isn't at stake… it's all just good old fashioned fun. And that's why I love it! Heh… gues I'll have to thank Luna next time we run into each other… c'mon Haro, let's go find Recon and Lyra!"

"Find! Find!"

Azrael grabbed Haro and stood up, looking off in the direction Lunaria went.

'Thanks Luna… hope you'll be watching the next battle.'

Azrael ran off as he spotted Recon and Lyra with Mr. Kanade, waving to them as they ran over to him.

'I'm not gonna worry about the battle… all I want to do is have fun with it and win! If I lose, then alright, but, I won't go down without a fight! You better get ready Nils!'


	13. Seven Swords vs Two Swords

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Music for this battle:  
watch?v=p2Ed-VYaJQA**

**Chapter 12: Seven Swords vs. Two Swords**

**American Nationals/Finals**

Azrael and the others rushed into the arena, being in a bit of a hurry.

"Man… why did you have to be late Mr. Kanade? My match starts in ten minutes!"

"Sorry Azrael… I forgot about my alarm…"

Azrael sighed and crossed his arms.

"Lyra, can you hold onto Haro? He wants to be able to actually see what's going on."

"I wanna see! I wanna see!"

"Okay, Haro, just don't run off now, got it?"

"Got it! Got it!"

Haro flitted over to Lyra, and Recon put a hand on Azrael's shoulder.

"You better not lose today Azrael. If you do I'm gonna whip you into shape again so that next time you'll never lose. Give Nils a run for his money!"

"Don't worry, I will."

**Arena**

Azrael's ears were numbed to sound as he focused on the match even before it began, and he could clearly see Nils across the arena, the young man finally coming into a clear view once the announcers finished the introduction, and as they started up Azrael's, the teen sighed and closed his eyes.

"Let's go… Gundam Frontier…"

Azrael let out a breath and opened his eyes, the sudden cheering of the crowd finally coming into focus as he made his way out to the battle system, and things grew quiet.

"So, you're the boy they call Archangel. I have to say, you've been quite the interesting fighter to watch."

"Not like there's much else I can say about you, Nils Nielsen. But, I just hope that we can have an enjoyable battle… though I have no plans to lose today."

"Hmm… neither do I."

"_Please set your GP Base… Beginning Plavsky Particle Dispersal…"_

The field that formed was rather fittingly a Sengoku era castle, and the two set their Gunplas.

"Sengoku Astray Gundam, here I come!"

"00 Gundam Frintier Seven Swords… RAGE ON!"

Azrael tore out of the catapult and shot into the air, zooming in on the castle rook to find the Sengoku Astray waiting for him. Once Azrael landed, his switched his two GN Swords to blade mode.

"So, you're using the Seven Swords configuration to face me…"

"00 Gundam Frontier is built for close quarters and mid-range combat… but considering beam weapons are rather useless against you, I had to arm up."

"Well… Let's see hwo those seven swords hold up against me! Go, Sengoku Astray!"

Nils drew both katanas and blazed forward. Azrael blocked with his GN Swords, and the sound of the blades clash rung out.

"What the…"

"I reinforced these blades with metal… there's no way you're going to break my Seven Swords with those flimsy katanas!"

Azrael pushed back, the particles streaming from the twin GN Drives exploding outwards, and Azrael shoved Nils back to the other end of the roof.

"Hmph… you certainly know how to start a battle… but… my blades won't be broken easily either!"

The two clashed swords again, exchanging blows again and again, and neither one was even managing to scratch the other. Nils moved into a feint, and knocked the GN Sword Blaster from Azrael's hand, and the blade landed in the ground below. Azrael responded by drawing the GN Long Blade and blocking the next slash.

"Go Frontier! Push him back!"

Azrael yelled as he pushed forward, boosting forward and pushing the Sengoku Astray.

"No you don't!"

Nils hit his own booster and flames shot out of the Sengoku Astray's back, and the two were locked in place, GN particles and flames creating quite the spectacle as the two surged from their respective Gunpla's backs, and the crowd let out huge amounts of cheers as the fighting continued as the castle crashed down around the two fighters from the sheer amount of force being generated. Both combatants growled and let out the same word with loud screams.

"GOOOOOO!"

The two finally separated and blasted off, and Azrael switched his GN Sword to storage mode, pulling out his other GN Blade and rushing back as Nils did, the two charging forward again, and clashing with enough force to knock each other's blades out of their hands, their Gunplas colliding and streaking towards the ground. Azrael growled and straightened out, going back to the ground so the wings could slow him, and he streaked a stop in the courtyard, coincidentally near all three of his fallen swords, and Nils also landed by his swords, and he rushed forward before Azrael could rearm himself, and Azrael whipped out the GN Katars.

"Dang… he;s certainly fast… but so am I!"

Azrael dashed back and lashed out with a spinning kick that Nils blocked, going for another slash, and Azrael blocked it with the shield made from the stabilizer, going for a stab and nailing the Sengoku Astray's secondary arms, though he was quickly disarmed of the GN Katars soon afater, and Azrael shot back again, grabbing the GN Sword Blaster as Nils managed to get the lower part of one of his legs, and he started hovering.

"Deploy sword bits…"

The sword bits flew out of the wings, and four gathered around each blade, moving in a circle around them.

"Hmm?"

"These sword bits help increase my combat capabilities… now, let's go!"

Azrael shot forward again, and Nils swung his blades in an X shape, the wave blasting forward. Azrael smirked and moved his blades forward, colliding with the shockwave.

"That move isn't going to work! Force through Frontier!"

Azrael yelled and the energy wave broke, much to Nils' surprise, and the sword bits shot away from the GN Swords, moving towards Nils and taking diving swoops at him, and he simply had to deflect them, and when Azrael collided again, the two stood locked in place, and the eight sword bits circles the two.

"Well… I never expected you to be so skilled…"

"I've been through way too many tough battles now… And I know you've been watching… so I couldn't afford to hold back one bit! And not during a battle that's this much fun!"

"I have to agree on that! Now… particle Fa Jin!"

"Oh no you don't! Trans AM!"

The Frontier shot back as it's Trans AM activated, making it back just before the Sengoku Astray's plam could hit it's torso.

"So, you saw that coming eh?"

"I'm not going to give you the chance to use it!"

Azrael shot up into the air with the Trans AM Wings of the Sky active, moving up high, and the sword bits started spinning around the two GN Swords.

"So, you're going to use the same move you did against Greco huh? Well, we'll just have to see if those baldes can stand up to Particle Fa Jin… if you get the time!"

"Heh, this attack charges faster than you thought!"

Nils' eyes widened when both of the GN Blades were coated with particles in massive amounts, the energy exploding outwards, and the sword bits held the energy into a sword shape.

"Double Frontier Sword!"

"Heh… that attack won't be able to do much against me!"

"We'll see!"

Azrael burst downwards with the baldes directed downwards as he charged, and Nils thrust his katanas forward, intent on splitting the particles in his usual manner, and the two were held in place again, both combatants growling as they tried to force the other back.

"BREAK THROUGH! GUNDAAAAAM!"

Cracks started appearing on Nils' swords, and when they shattered, the particles of the Frontier Swords dispersed, leaving the air full of them, and Azrael switched both GN Swords to rifle mode, firing on Nils, who blocked each shot, and when Azrael crashed down and switched the blades back, Nils was ready.

"Particle Fa Jin!"

When the Sengoku Astray's arm shot forward, Azrael ducked the blow, though his right arm was caught, he purged it to avoid taking too much damage, and he exited Trans AM.

"This is the end!"

Azrael sliced the Sengoku Astray's torso with the reaming blade and sword bits, cutting it clean through, and the ensuing explosion was _huge. _The crowd stood stunned as the battle ended, then they broke out cheering, and by far the loudest ones were Azrael's friends and Mr. Kanade.

"Whoooohoooo! He did it! Azrael won!"

"Hahahaha! Awesome!"

"He wins! He wins! He wins!"

"An amazing battle!"

Ricardo had a large grin on his face up in his booth as well.

"So he made it huh? Guess I'm going to get another chance to battle him. Well, it'll certainly be interesting match. I can't wait!"

Lunaria's partner was snickering quietly while the girl looked down below.

"Well now… isn't that interesting… now we have… plenty of data on him. Alright Lunaria… we'll be going now. You need to get in your practice for the World Tournament with the Gunpla we're going to produce."

Lunaria nodded and the two left, and down below, Azrael and Nils were shaking hands.

"I have to thank you Azrael… that was a very interesting match. It was fun. I'd like to get the chance to battle with you again."

"Same here Nils! I don't think I've had so much fun in a battle for a long time. It was awesome! So, again, thanks for the awesome battle!"

Nils nodded and the two parted ways, and Azrael began picking up his pace, barely able to contain his excitement.

'I did it! I made it to the World Tournament! All sorts of fighters will be waiting for me there… and I'll be ready for all of you! I'll be ready for you with my 00 Gundam Frontier!'

Azrael finally met up with his friends, and Haro immediately went back to him.

"Azrael wins! Azrael wins!"

"Yep! I did Haro! I made it!"

Recon laughed and Lyra had her own smile, and the two started congratulating Azrael.

"So, any plans for the World Tournament dude?"

"Well… I was thinking of making more weapon packs for the Frontier… can't have myself becoming predictable now can I? I think it's only regular weapons are going to be it's beam sabers and GN Swords along with the sword bits."

"_More _weapons? Sheesh Azrael, you really don't know when to quit with that huh?"

"Oh can it Lyra. It pays to be prepared… but… since I won… you have to agree to take lessons in Gunpla Battle now."

"WHAT!?"

"That's a good idea. We can't have you being too left out now. So, how about it? We've got two months before the World Tournament. We need to spend as much time training with each other as possible, and for that Lyra, you need to learn to battle with the best of them!"

Lyra's face flushed, and Azrael chuckled.

"Think of this as a way to help you get closer to Recon. You can thank me later."

"SHUT UP AZRAEL!"

"What did he say?"

"Lyra likes Recon! Lyra likes Recon!"

"SHUT UP HARO!"

Azrael laughed as he held Haro out of Lyra's reach, holding the girl back while Recon stood there in confusion, and Mr. Kanade laughed loudly.

"You three really haven't grown up at all! You're still the same kids I met five years ago."

Azrael just chuckled and put an arm around both his friends, Haro on his head.

"Course not! The only thing that has changed is that we're all involved with Gunpla now!"

Mr. Kanade laughed at Azrael's very true statement.

"Hahaha! You are right Azrael! You and Recon are the same nerds as always!"

"So are you Lyra… you just don't like admitting it."

"Azrael stop! You know I hate it when you noogie me!"

Azrael snickered as he kept it up, and Lyra was smacking his back, and Recon was laughing his gut out, and Haro was flipping around in a happy manner. Off in the distance, Lunaria was actually watching the three.

"Is… that what it's like… to have friends?"

Azrael laughed when he finally release Lyra, and her hair was messed up so much it was sticking out all over the place, and the two boys kept laughing as Lyra started chewing them out. Things really weren't different for the three of them.


	14. Taking time off

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 13: Taking time off**

**Venator Hobby Shop/Battle Room**

"So… why did you drag me here so early in the morning Recon?"

Lyra was leaning on the battle system, a tired look on her face.

"You know how he is. Recon can't sleep in for the life of him."

"Can't sleep in! Can't sleep in!"

Haro was rolling around on the battle system, and Azrael picked the robot up.

"Cool it Haro. I still don't get why you dragged _me _into this as well. I have weapon packs to work on."

"You can get to those later. I think all three of us should participate in this. It'll make it more interesting. You did switch our yur unit right Azrael?"

"Uh… yeah. I don't think I showed you guys this one actually."

Azrael set down Haro and opened his carrier after moving the part of his coat that was hiding it aside.

"Why are you even still wearing that thing Azrael?"

"Because I think I look cool in it Lyra. That's why. Now, say hello to Wing Zero Custom/X."

Basically, the model was just a custom painted Wing Zero Custom, the colors of course being Azrael's signature black and red, though the wings remained white.

"Okay… what's the "X" for?"

"I made some adjustments to its basic systems. The X is for unknown. I just threw it on there for the heck of it. Now, let's get started."

The three set up the field together, and Lyra seemed incredibly nervous as they entered the canyon environment. Recon started by giving her a basic tutorial on movement while Azrael decided to just swoop around the area and blast an computer enemies that the system brought up so that he wouldn't get bored and to keep them off the other two while they practiced all the basics. When controls were over with, Azrael took over and started showing Lyra basic maintenance and what to watch for, all the things she'd need to know for the start up. The three pretty much practiced their butts off for the whole day, and Recon pretty much stated it was a toned down Blitz Training, which received an eye-roll from Azrael, who'd taken to getting back to work on the weapon packs for the 00 Frontier about halfway through, sitting back and watching while Haro kept bouncing around and cheering Lyra on. This pattern kept up for a few days.

"Heh… this is just like old times for you three."

Azrael looked up when his mother leaned on the counter next to him, setting down the flight unit he was working on.

"Yep. Except this time Lyra and I switched places. I actually suggested this thing to see if I could finally get them to fess up to each other. It's been taking long enough as it is."

"Hahahaha! Wow… and to think, people though you and Lyra were together."

"Yeah… that needs to be resolved."

Azrael picked up what he was using only to practically fly out of his seat as Recon burst out.

"Azrael! Get back in here for a practice battle with Lyra! And no using the Wing Zero Custom! Use something more basic than that!"

"Okay okay, yeesh… I'll go get my Sword Strike Gundam…"

Azrael hurried up stairs and came back down with a basic Sword Strike Gunpla, no recolors, the only thing being that it had _two _Sword Striker Packs equipped and enhanced performance. Recon sighed and gave Azrael a look.

"What? Might as well be well equipped."

"_Two _Sword Striker Packs on _one _Gundam? Wow dude, wow."

"Shut up! Alright, you ready Lyra?"

"Ready!"

The field set up, a space environment, and the two set their Gunpla.

"Lyra Strikeheart, SD Legilis Neko, here I go!"

"Double Sword Strike. Rage on!"

The two launched out onto the field, meeting in the middle of the area.

"Oh great… he has two swords bigger than my Gunpla…"

"Eh heh… Ant-ship swords are kinda big…"

"Wait... Azrael those are Excaliburs!"

"The Excaliburs are way more practical than the originals and even the Arondight so shut up Recon! Alright now. Lyra, the only thing I can use to attack you at a range are the beam boomerangs and my grapples, but, I'll be mainly relying on the Excalibur, now, let's see what you've got!"

Azrael pulled out one of the Excaliburs and held it in a ready stance, and Lyra took off, firing at him with her beam rifle. Azrael snickered and deflected the shots, blasting forward and slashing. Lyra flipped back and the blade missed, and she lashed out with one of the palm built beam sabers, which Azrael narrowly dodged before dashing off again, grabbing a beam boomerang and letting it loose.

"No it won't!"

Lyra blasted the boomerang, leaving a large explosion cloud, and straight out of it, one of Azrael's grapple hooks shot through and latched onto the SD Legilis Neko's head, and he flung her down.

"WAGH!"

"Come one! That's easy to recover from!"

Azrael aimed downwards and charged with sword out and ready. Lyra growled and boosted off in time for the sword to miss, and Azrael cut the corner and shot off again, avoiding the following spry of fire, disappearing behind one of the meteors, seemingly vanishing when it was blown away.

"Huh? Where'd he go? Eep!"

Lyra flinched when the Excalibur's blade showed up right in front of her from behind, and Azrael was already there, and the match ended.

"Game set and match. I have to say, those were some nice moves you pulled. Of course the gap in skill level is rather wide between you and me, but, keeping up with a World Level fighter is difficult, and you're an amateur, so that's worth praise."

Recon had a smirk on his face as the field closed.

"Well, it's all thanks to my training! I guess I'll have to start taking her to the Strikecenter more often now."

"Heh heh… You guys better not do anything weird while I'm gone. Since the World Tournament is at the PPSSE arena in Japan, I'll be gone for at least a month."

"WE'RE NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING WEIRD!"

"Y'sure? Cause I don't wanna have to leave little Haro here to look after you guys while I'm gone."

"Don't wanna stay! Don't wanna stay! Wann go with Azrael! Wanna go with Azrael!"

"Okay, Haro. Don't worry, I'm taking you with me. I'm not going alone anyway. Mr. Kanade's coming along to."

"Oh yeah… isn't he from Japan?"

"Yes I am!"

" WHEN DID YOU GET HERE!?"

The three teens screamed in shock when the man suddenly popped up behind Azrael.

"Not long ago. I watched that practice match. All three of you are skilled. I have to say, you'd make quite the formidable team. Now, we still have less than two months before the World Tournament! Why don't all four of us put are all into the time we have before then? Azrael, have you finished your weapon packs?"

"Heh, making weapons in a few days is easy. I managed to make all three of them to add with the Seven Sword pack. But, I'm waiting to reveal them for the World Tournament. But, I will need practice so that I'm used to them."

"Hmm… well then, I'm sure you'll have them down quickly… now… let's get to training!"

"All right!"

"Haro! Haro!"

**A couple months later/Strike City Airport**

"Okay Azrael, do you have everything you need?"

"Mom, I'm fine… I've got clothes, they'll be providing food, Mr. Kanade is going to make sure I don't do anything stupid, Haro is with me to help make sure I'm not lonely, and I'll make sure my phone is good and charged. Don't worry. I'm good."

Jesse was uncontrollably on the verge of tears, and Lyra was tyring to keep her calm.

"My little boys all grown up! He doesn't need mommy to look after him anymore! WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Mrs. Venator please calm down! You're making a scene!"

"Don't worry Jesse, I'll look after the boy. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, Mom, if Dad comes back from his latest escapade tell him I said "hi" in the usual fashion."

"I will... just go out there and whoop some butt!"

Azrael chuckled and took a salute.

"Orders received Commander! I'll be sure not to disappoint while I'm gone!"

Jesse shakily got into the same salute, and Recon put a hand on Azrael's shoulder.

"D0 your best dude. Hand those guys a new one! And if you somehow come back with a girlfriend, introduce me will ya?"

"RECON! Watch what you say! My mom already talked to me about that and I'd like not to go through it again!"

Azrael flinched when his mother's look darkened, and he grabbed Haro.

"D-don't worry mom! Nothing weird is gonna happen while I'm gone… it'll be fine… Haro, say goodbye."

"Goodbye! Goodbye!"

Azrael smiled again as the goodbyes went around, and when it was finally time to get on the plane, he waved goodbye with Mr. Kanade and Haro. On the plane, Mr. Kanade brought up a question.

"So, you did remember your lesson's in Japanese correct?"

"You put me through a crash course every chance you got. But… I guess a review over this long as heck flight could help."

"Good. Now, let's begin."

"Haro! Haro!"

"Heh… I might have to change his language to suit to. Well… we're on our way to the World Tournament… time for the ultimate test of my skills…"

**A/N**

**Who else is seeing that the "nothing is going to happen" bit is going to come around and bite Azrael in the butt in the worst way? *snicker***


	15. Eve of the World Tournament

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**A/N: To help make it a bit clearer that Azrael and the other characters are speaking Japanese at times depending on the characters, I'm going to use a few replacement words and honorifics to make things a bit more authentic.**

**Chapter 14: Eve of the World Tournament**

**Shizuoka City Airport**

Azrael rushed off the plane with Haro and into the open window area, looking out over the city,

"Sugoi! Kanade-san don't you think this looks awesome!?"

"Sugoi! Sugoi!"

Mr. Kanade walked out with a tired look, feeling some pretty bad jet lag.

"Azrael-kun, could you stay calm a bit? It's really tiring for me…"

"How can I stay calm!? I'm in _Japan! _I've wanted to come here for so long! Could we stop by Akihabara before the tournament is over!? I've been _dying _to go there!"

Azrael had that glint in his eyes, and Mr. Kanade sighed.

"Can we just go get a car so I can get you to the players village? I'm incredibly tired…"

"Ngggh… fine… but what am I gonna do if I don't have a ride, and I mean, it's so early he… what's this?"

Mr. Kanade handed Azrael a slip of paper.

"A list of foods I think you should try while we're here. There should be plenty of stalls around. You have the money you need right?"

"Of course I do! I exchanged all the money I'd been saving up for this occasion! I have a ton of cash with me! Oh man I can't wait to try some of this stuff! The meat buns especially! Haaaagh haaagh…."

"Food! Food!"

Azrael's mouth was watering, and he looked like a much younger child who'd just gotten a toy bigger than them for Christams as he scanned the list over and over.

"It's food and Gunpla that can get to this kid. Works like a charm every time. But, before you go out and stuff your face, there is the reception party PPSS is holding for all the contestants."

"Reception… party? As in… the kind where you have to dress up and stuff? The one where there's a huge crowd of people packed into one room?"

"Yes… is there a problem with that?

"YES THERE'S A PROBLEM! I _hate _dressing up! And I _hate_ tight crowds!"

"You're wearing a ZAFT red coat, how is that any different than wearing a suit?"

"It's a cosplay outfit! Besides, it's just the coat over my normal attire."

"There's only going to be eighty people including you there other than the waiters and such, and the room is rather large. You'll be fine."

"Hagh… fine… but I'm gonna take the next opportunity I get to go and get some of this stuff… I don't want to miss out on any of it. And can't I just wear my normal outfit?"

"No! Now come on! I need to get you to the player's village so I can check into a hotel and take a nap."

"Man, tonight is gonna go places…"

**Player's Village/Azrael's Room**

"Hmm, well, this isn't too bad… though the extra bed comes into question… eh, whatever. So, what do you think Haro?"

"Sugoi! Sugoi!"

"He's been saying that all day… well, might as well set this stuff down."

Azrael set the suitcases he'd packed down on the spare bed along with his parts box, and when he went inot the bathroom, the first thing he noticed was the suit tailored to his size with a note on it.

"Venator-san, please wear this to the reception party… ah man… do I have to… and furthermore, a stupid bowtie? Nope! I'm swapping it out!"

Azrael threw the suit onto his bed and started digging through one of the suitcases. He knew well enough his mom had snuck some formal stuff in there when he wasn't looking, so finding a black tie wasn't too hard. Haro was just wobbling back and forth on the empty bed and humming the second Gundam 00 opening while Azrael got changed, and when he came out, he was still tugging on the sleeves.

"Well… this doesn't suit me at all… okay Haro, we've got enough time to make it to the reception party a little late. Ready to go?"

"Ready! Ready!"

Azrael picked up Haro and left, quietly humming to himself.

**Reception Room**

"Azrael Venator-sama. Alright then. Welcome sir."

Azrael nodded as the waiter at the front motioned him in, and his eyes brightened when he saw the people there.

"Sugoi! All the people here came to play Gunpla! This is to cool!"

"Sugoi! Sugoi!"

"Ah man… I don't know anyone here… what in the world am I gonna do other than just sit on the wall?"

"Oi! Azrael!"

Azrael turned around when he heard his name and saw Ricardo walking towards him.

"Oh, Fellini-san! Nice to see you're here! At least _someone _I know is here…"

"Ahahaha! Well, you're a first timer, make it here more often and it won't get so weird. But, I can see from the look in your eyes, you've been working on your Gunpla huh?"

"Of course I have! I'm not going to let myself get rusty before we have a chance to battle again! Oh, and this is Haro. I brought him along with me so I wouldn't get lonely in between matches."

"Ah, hello there little guy! You keep this kid outta trouble, okay?"

"Haro! Haro!"

"He runs off enough as it is Fellini-san. Don't give Haro ideas. Uh… no way… it's Luang Dallara, the Thai champion!"

Azrael started ecstatically pointing out anyone he recognized, and Ricardo chuckled at his rather immature actions.

"Oi, Fellini-san! Who's this fellow right here?"

Azrael perked up again and shot around, Haro balancing on his head, only to get that bright look again. In front of him was a now eighteen year old Sei Iori, who looked much more mature and was about Azrael's height.

"Awesome! You're Sei Iori right!? You won the World Tournament five years ago with Reiji and have been a regular contender ever since! Oh, where are my manners! I'm Azrael Venator, here representing America!"

"Oh, so you're the one who beat Nils. You don't seem that much younger than I am to be honest."

"Eheheh… you're only about a year older truth be told… but, I've been a fan of yours for a while! The Gunpla you build are amazing!"

"Ehe… thanks Azrael-kun. I saw a few images of the one you built, the 00 Frontier right? It seems rather powerful, and that's just from seeing an image."

"Thanks! I worked really hard on that one! But man, it's just so cool that I get to meet you!"

"Hahaha! The pleasures mine. Oh, Fellini-san, have you seen Mao-kun anywhere?"

"Looking for me Sei-han?"

Azrael snapped around again, and Haro actually fell off with a deadpan yell. Mao had definitely grown over the last few years, being taller than Sei, and he still wore his trademark hat.

"Awesome! You're Mao Yasaka! You're the heir to the Gunpla Shingyo School, and you won the ninth world tournament with your Crossbone X Maoh MkII! Man I am getting to meet so many people I wanted to meet for so long! Today is by far the best day of my life!"

"Hmm? Sei-han, who's this guy?"

"Oh, this is Azrael Venatro, the one who beat Nils-kun during the American tournament."

"HUH!? You beat Nils!? What kind of Gunpla did you sue to pull that off!? I heard the one who beat him barely took a scratch!"

Azrael flinched a bit when Mao got right up in his face.

"Well, I did lose an arm and a leg… but… well… it's a custom build I made by combining the Strike Freedom with the 00 Raiser… sot, it has both the twin drive system and phase shift armor… along with a special Trans AM system I put together by combining Voiture Lumiere with GN Particles when in Trans AM… though I still haven't been able to calibrate the Trans AM burst… other than that, it's the best Gunpla I've built, right after my Wing Zero Custom/X I think if I really think about it."

"You managed to make something like that! Wow! You'd be fun to battle, I can tell!"

"Uh… thank you Yasaka-san…"

"Well, seems you got Mao-kun excited Azrael-kun. When he gets like this, he's going to want to battle you at some point."

"Hehehe… you know it Sei-han! There's no backing down from my challenge Arael-han! If we don't get to fight in the World Tournament, then we'll have to fight sometime before you have to leave, got it?"

"Hmph, I never back down from a challenge. I'll be ready."

Off in a corner, Lunaria was actually watching while staying hidden behind a pillar, garbed in a white dress not to different from her normal attire.

"So… he showed up here… still… I don't get why I'm watching him like this… he's acting like such an idiot right now… and all of this over this stupid game? Why? And why does he think its fun?"

Lunaria was _still _plagued by these questions, and she hid a bit more when Azrael and the little entourage he'd joined up with started walking here way, and Haro rolled over to her when they went past.

"Luna! Luna!"

"Shooo! Go away little guy! I don't want to be seen!"

Lunaria kicked at Haro, but the little robot kept bouncing towards her.

"Man not again. Haro get back here!"

Lunaria took the opportunity and ran off before Azrael could notice, and he picked up Haro.

"Who was that?"

"Luna! Luna!"

"Hmm? What? Wait, you thought that was Luna? No way… then again… eh whatever… though it would make me curious where she's from if she is here… but, does that mean she plays Gunpla Battle too? Hmm… that's something to think about… then again… I only talked to her twice…"

Azrael walked back over to the other three, and Ricardo spoke first.

"What was that about?"

"Haro thought he saw somebody I met back home a few months ago. But I'm not sure about it…"

"Azrael likes Luna! Azrael likes Luna!"

"HAro shut up!"

"Oh, so it's a girl eh? Hmm, if she is here, then maybe you landed a catch!"

"S-shut up Fellini-san! I've only talked to her twice so far… and besides, what are the odds of me running into her again, she seemed foreign so maybe she was in the city on a trip… if so then I may never see her again. Hagh… man my life is like an anime sometimes…"

"Hahaha! You certainly are an odd one Azrael-kun! But, do not despair! I could give you some tips if you want!"

"No thanks! And aren't you married?! If you went flirting around with other girls I'm sure you'd get in big trouble!"

Ricardo started trying to subdue the other three as they started drilling him, and Lunaria was back to watching.

"What was that Haro talking about? He likes me? But we only met twice so…"

Lunaria wasn't much better off considering she was pretty much stalking Azrael now… this World Tournament is definitely going to be an interesting one.

**A/N**

**I'm gonna have so much from here on out…**


	16. World Tournament, 1st Day

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 15: World Tournament, 1****st**** Day**

**Player's Village/Azrael's Room**

"Hmm… which weapon pack should I use for this round?"

Azrael had his hands folded, and he was looking at all four weapon sets he had at his disposal: The Seven Sword pack, Cherudim pack, Arios pack, and Seravee pack. Each set was based off the Mobile Suits used by Celestial Being in Gundam 00, optimized for use with the 00 Frontier's Twin Drive system.

"Hmm… well, if memory serves me correctly, the first match is going to be a four person knock out battle. Hmm… alright, Cherudim it is."

Azrael started fitting the nessecary parts on, swapping out the sword bits for rifle bits, adding the shielding parts, pistol/axes, and the sniper rifle. All in all, the only thing basic from the 00 Frontier was it's GN Sword.

"Hey, Haro, I'm gonna need your help for this next battle. You still have that combat data I uploaded into you right? The one from when I was practicing with the Cherudim pack?"

"Yep! Yep! Haro is ready for battle! Haro is ready for battle!"

"Heh, good. I'm going to need you to handle basic maneuvers once I get set up so I can target the enemies."

"Roger! Roger!"

Azrael chuckled and got back to work, finishing up quickly before grabbing Haro and heading off to the arena.

**PPSE Arena**

Azrael sighed as he walked into the players viewing spots below the stands.

"Whew, just in time for the match before mine… hmm? Who's that battling?"

"This year's German rep."

Ricardo walked up to Azrael from behind, and the two turned back to the match.

"The name… Lunaria Frost… huh!? I know that Gunpla!"

"Hmm?"

"She's using a Reborns Gundam! But… it looks different… the color scheme is inverted… and it just seems different."

In the field, the mentioned Reborns Gundam was hovering right in the middle of the field, and it's three opponents decided to go for a rush, but, they went down way to quickly before they even got close, and Azrael noticed a faint glint in the air, and as the match ended, Lunaria, who was wearing what seemed like a simple cosplay piloting suit, moved her hands off the controls. Azrael had a thoughtful look on his face as he replayed what just happened in his head.

"Are those GN Fangs transparent? They'd have to be if we couldn't see them."

"The winner of the fifth match is Lunaria Frost, representing Germany! She had won four points!"

Ricardo put a hand on his chin, a certain memory returning to him.

"Well now, I've seen that tactic before."

"It's the same one Team Nemesis used five years ago… yeah… I remember watching that."

Ricardo chuckled as Azrael left since his match was starting.

"Alright kid, let's see what you've got."

**Venator Household**

In the living room, Lyra and Recon were watching the screen intensely as Azrael walked out to the arena.

"C'mon dude, don't screw this up…"

"Don't jinx him Recon!"

**PPSE Arena**

Azrael set his GP base as the field formed, and due to the nature of the 00 Frontier Cheridum, an extra place for Haro showed up, and the little robot flitted up into it.

"Alright… time to show the world what we're made of…00 Frontier Cherudim, rage on!"

The 00 Frontier shot out of the gate, straight into a snow storm off the bat.

"This'll make targeting difficult. Haro! Take over for me! Use the movements I uploaded!"

"Roger that! Roger that!"

Azrael's controls changed into a glowing yellow aiming device that he propped against his shoulder, closing his non-aiming eye. The first of the three opponents, using a Buster Gundam, rushed into view.

"Now I got you!"

"Haro!"

"Dodging! Dodging!"

Haro directed the 00 Frontier with the same maneuver Azrael would have used, and Azrael managed to lock on, a smirk spreading across his face.

"I've wanted to say this for so long… Targeted and firing!"

Azrael fired off five shots that nailed the opponent in the torso and arms, sending it down to the ground.

"So, you're sniping eh? Well dodge this!"

The next opponents Gunpla, a Nadleeh, opened fire with two buster cannons, and Haro moved to bring up the shield, which blocked the shots pretty well.

"Phew, good thing I reinforced that. Well, let's see how you hold up to these!"

Azrael flipped back forward and fired off a barrage of GN missiles, and two managed to hit the mark.

"No way!?"

"Sorry, but I cam prepared! Detonate them Haro!"

Haro flipped his ears and the missiles exploded.

"Alright! I'll take the last one with the GN Sword Haro! Let's do this!"

Azrael stored the rifle and whipped out the GN Sword, taking off to face his last target, slashing straight through with ease.

"The winner of the sixth match is Azrael Venator, representing America. He has won four points."

"Hahaha! Alright!"

The crowd broke out cheering, and all the way back home, Azrael's friends were screaming their heads off.

"Nice job Haro! Hehehe! You know, I know the perfect way to celebrate tonight. I still have that list to go through, hehe."

"Hmm, so that's what he can do?"

Ricardo turned to see Sei watching with bright eyes, and he laughed.

"He's tough isn't he? He's much better than he was when we first squared off, that's for sure. Ad I guess he's made a bunch of new weapons so that he won't become predictable."

"He'll be a tough opponent to fight, but that's what I'm hoping for."

**Evening/City**

Azrael trotted out of one of the food stalls with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Hahaha! Kanade-san was right when he said this stuff was good… so… what's next on my list hmm?"

Azrael turned and started whistling as he walked, and after a bit, he started getting a nagging feeling in the back of his neck that he was being followed.

"Haro… I feel like someone's following me… go take a look."

"Haro! Haro!"

Haro rolled through the crowd nimbly until he found just who was making Azrael get that feeling: Lunaria. Again.

"Luna! Luna!"

"Shhh! Haro, go back to Azrael! Go on! Shoo!"

"So, who'd you… LUNA!?"

The two teens just stared at each other for a minute while Haro jumped up and down.

"W-what are you doing here?"

"Uh… well… a friend of mine asked me to come along with them to watch the World Tournament… so… uh…"

"Oh… well… that's surprising…"

"Well… what are you doing here anyway?"

Lunaria decided to play coy with this. She knew all too well.

"Uhm… I'm _in _the tournament."

"Oh… right."

"But… were you following me or something?"

"N-no! Why in the world would you think that?!"

"Well, I have a sixth sense for these things or something. I'm kinda perceptive. But, Haro here thought he saw you at the reception party the other night. I guess he spotted someone who looked like you!"

"Yeah… maybe…"

"Wrong! Wrong! Luna was there! Luna was there!"

"Haro calm down! I'll tweak your personality matrix if you keep acting like this!"

Lunaria just watched as Azrael and Haro got into what could have been argument, though arguing with a little robot seemed incredibly pointless.

'What is with him? He's at least seventeen, but he acts like a child half his age. All those things he does… it's so pointless… the life he lived… it's drastically different than mine… but, maybe that's why I want to learn about him…'

"That's it, I'm getting rid of that sarcasm you developed when we get home Haro. Sheesh."

Azrael started rubbing his temples, and Haro laughed.

"Sorry Luna. Haro's personality took after my sarcastic side. Oh, I'm going around and getting a bunch of food from here, and I there's no way I'd be able to eat it all by myself. You wanna come with?"

"Huh?"

Lunaria was honestly surprised. Why in the world would he ask that when this was the third time they'd talked?

"Why… are you asking that? We've only talked to each other three times…"

"Doesn't mean I can't be nice to you! Just because it's the first few times you talk to a person doesn't mean you have to be cold. That could leave a bad first impression… at least, that's what my dad told me. So, how about it? Japan has some really good stuff around here!"

"I don't know… I mean…"

"Hagh… if you _were _following me than you're obviously free. Come one! If you're only here for the tournament might as well make the trip worth it right? Hehe!"

Lunaria blushed when Azrael grabbed her hand and started pulling her along, that ever present smile on his face.

"A-alright…"

"Sweet! Come on, the next stall is close!"

As the two moved throughout the shopping area, the man who Lunaria had come with stayed in the shadows and watched the two teens.

"This better not affect her performance in the matches to come. It's far too early in this tournament for that."

After a few more stalls, Azrael flopped down on a bench and let out a sigh as Haro flitted up to his lap.

"Man… I have not eaten so much in forever."

"You went through that entire list you had in little more than an hour. Of course you'd be feeling that way."

"Eh, I'll be able to work it off quickly. Still, I had fun. Though I still think I'm gonna have loads of fun during this tournament!"

"Again with that. Why do you think Gunpla is so fun? I don't see why. All it is is taking models you build and then practically wrecking them."

"But that's the fun part! We get to see what we've done come to life! And besides, unlike the anime, no one's putting their life on the line, nobody is being forced, the fate of the world isn't at stake, yada yada. It's why I can take it seriously and have fun. There's nothing to worry about."

'He has no idea what it's like for me…'

"Well… say someone _was _being forced to play this game… what would you think?"

"Hmm… well, first I'd probably make the people who did do that pay for it, and then help the person who was forced. I don't like seeing Gunpla used for bad reasons. I guess I have your typical chronic hero syndrome mentality. Hahaha! I'm such a nerd, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are."

Lunaria hid a faint smile from Azrael. Something about what he'd said… she'd never heard such kind words before, even if it was in a weird way.

"Well, guess we'll wind up running into each other again. See ya' next time!"


	17. Battle Royale

Gundam Build Fighters: A New Frontier

**Chapter 16: Battle Royale**

**Players Village/Azrael's room**

Azrael was dozing on the desk in the room between a couple stacks of Gunpla boxes he'd been amassing over the past couple of days since the World Tournament began, Haro drooping left and right not far off. The series of either battles or other testing events was wearing him out, so he'd taken to building to calm his nerves.

"Azrael! It's me! Can I come in?"

Mr. Kanade knocked on the door, and when he noticed that it was open slightly, he pushed it open quietly, chuckling when he saw the sleeping teen.

"He's wore himself out. Haha… my, what a boy. So, this is what he's been doing whenever he's not out in the city eh? Building Gunpla as always. Well, let's see what you've done so far shall we?"

Mr. Kanade looked over the boy's shoulders to see what was done, an observant look in his eyes. In Azrael's hand, he held an unfinished Gundam Exia, and in front of him were various other models, and Kanade recognized each one with ease: Gundam Hellscythe, Zeta Gundam, RX-78-2, Gundam AGE-2, Gundam AGE-FX, and even an odd break from his normal set consisting of the Zaku II Char Custom, Sazabi, and a few more Char Clone Mobile Suits.

"Hmph, and he's built all those in only a few days' time. But even then, you can see his own little personal touches here and there, even if they are minor."

Mr. Kanade's eyes drifted over to the 00 Frontier near Haro, and he analyzed it carefully.

"So, as noted, he replaced his eight DRAGOONs with custom sword bits, and he's using a metal version of the GN Sword III, the blade anyway. Must be because of the Frontier Sword's output. Variable Phase Shift armor from the Strike Freedom as seen in its armor design, though it stays similar to the 00 Gundam itself. Hmm, I never took a good look at it until now. Itss speed is also very impressive. Must be because of the Strike Freedom Wings and Raiser Boosters. You certainly have built a magnificent Gunpla."

Azrael stirred a bit and sat up, stretching his arms and letting out a yawn.

"Haaaaaaaawgh! Hmm? Oh, Kanade-san… did I leave the door open again?"

"Hehe… I came by to check up on you since it's late. I have to say, each of these models are impressive, even if they aren't in your signature color scheme to identify with."

"I'll take care of that once we get home and I have access to all my tools. For now, I'm just building them like I normally would without worrying about colors. I need some way to keep me occupied while I'm not busy in the arena or exploring the city. Besides, building is the only way I can keep myself relaxed half the time. Topping off with maintenance on the 00 Frontier whenever it takes damage, which isn't often surprisingly enough, I'm busy a lot of the time."

"Hmm… I understand. Everyone has ways to wear off stress. Your way is unique, that's for sure."

"That… and I left my laptop at home so I can't watch any anime or play games… And the free battle station is usually always in use between rounds so I can't practice much. I still haven't gotten a chance to use the Seravee pack though, guess the heavy weapons just don't need to be used when I have speed and such."

"Hahaha! You know, I almost wonder, if you were in the Gundam universe, what kind of pilot would you be?"

"I… actually have some odd dreams like that… I even keep them recorded in a journal… my last one had me diving in with the 00 Frontier Seven Swords during the first battle between the A-Laws and Celestial Being in full force... you know what, if you want, you can read through them."

Azrael pulled out his supply case and pulled the journal out of it, handing it to Mr. Kanade.

"Just… don't laugh… I'm apparently a little… hotblooded in the Gundam universe."

"Hahaha, well, you kind of are when you're in a Gunpla Battle, though I'm sure you don't notice it in the heat of the moment. I'll give these a look over."

"They're… kind of out of order in terms of sequence of events. I guess you could say its one big fanfiction that's been locked away in my subconscious… And it's been happening more since I built 00 Frontier, the thing was rather empty before."

Azrael looked at the Exia in his hands, and then the Frontier, letting out a sigh.

_The next period is a battle royal… should I use one of the weapon packs or not? Well… maybe I should give them a surprise and mix things up a bit. Hmm… we'll have to see what I can plan, Battle Royale's are tough. Hopefully I won't have to go it alone. Maybe I could get help from Sei-kun, Mao-kun, or maybe Fellini-san. I find it odd… I just keep improving on the Frontier no matter what… Build, destroy, and build again. Hmm…_

Azrael looked at the unadded GN wrist Vulcans he had yet to add to Exia, then at the Frontier, analyzing its forearms.

"If I add the forearms from Exia then I can add them… But I don't see myself using them… I'll just keep them on Exia."

Azrael got back to work, and Mr. Kanade chuckled as he left.

"That boy is going to go places."

**Arena**

Azrael let out a breath as all the contestants gathered around the massive battle system in the center of the arena, the entire crowd watching in anticipation.

_Mom, Recon, Lyra… hope you're watching._

Across the way, Lunaria took a quick look over at Azrael before the field started forming.

_Will I have to fight him in this battle? So soon?_

"Focus Lunaria. Don't get distracted."

"Yes sir."

The field took form, and Azrael took a breath.

"A gigantic field in both space and atmosphere with eighty nine other machines against me… I can do this… I set up the Frontier specifically for this situation."

Azrael looked at the Gunpla in his hand as he lifted it up. He wasn't using one of his weapon packs, instead, the Frontier was equipped with its GN Sword and GN Sword Blaster, the two GN Blades, it's beam sabers, and of course the sword bits. This was the 00 Frontier in its simplest form. Azrael set the Gunpla, the familiar red gleam shooting from its eyes as it was scanned.

"Azrael Venator, Gundam 00 Frontier. Rage on!"

The Frontier tore out of the catapult and straight into open space, and the combat had already started.

"Man that was fast! The field is already dangerous as it is!"

"Exactly! It's dangerous to fight alone. So we should fight together in this battle."

"I agree with Mao-kun! Besides, it would suck if you lost here."

"Sei-kun! Mao-kun! Heh, thanks guys, alright, let's go!"

Mao chuckled and Sei gave a thumbs up, and the Frontier along with the Build strike Cosmos and Crossbone Maoh streaked off. Azrael looked around after a bit of time.

"Weird, we haven't run into anyone yet. I'm wondering where that Reborns Gundam is though… I'd like a chance to fight that girl."

"I wouldn't be so quick to jump the gun with that one, Azrael-kun. I've seen that tactic before. I'm not sure your Frontier can…"

"I watched the seventh world tournament. I remember. Transparent funnels. And in space, those are dangerous to go against, but, I've got movement on my side. The Frontier was built for sky and space combat. Huh? Guys, on our left!"

Azrael and the other two quickly evaded a barrage of beams and missiles from seemingly nowhere, and they got back to back.

"Where did that come from?"

"Keep a look out!"

"Go! Sword bits! Haro, keep a look out!"

"Roger that! Roger that!"

The sword bits flew out of the Frontier Wings and started circling the three while the Wings of the Sky activated, and Azrael kept a watch, and an alert finally went off.

"Dead ahead!"

Azrael fired a full power blast from both his rifles, and he caught sight of multiple streaks of light that evaded them.

"Haro, how many?"

"Three enemies ahead! Three enemies ahead!"

"Three huh?"

"Well then…"

"That's one for each of us!"

Azrael snickered as he whipped out his blades, the sword bits moving into position around them, and he blasted off with the other two immediately.

"I still haven't used the quantizing trick with Trans AM now that I think about it… eh, I'll save it for later."

Azrael moved around the shots that came towards him and sliced through his target quickly, going and meeting back up with Sei and Mao when they finished up.

"That was quicker than I thought… I swear it's like when I was at the Strecenter all over again."

"Once you get up to World level and fight opponents at that same level, your skills tend to grow quickly."

"Sei-han is correct. We're practically ace pilots in this battle!"

"Ace pilots! Ace pilots!"

"Haha… right… Haro, disengage Voiture Lumiere and replace the particles with GN particles. That'll help us move faster."

"Roger that! Roger that!"

The formerly blue Wings of Light receded for a second, and were soon replaced with streams of green GN particles shooting out of them.

"Making mid battle adjustments while we're moving?"

"GN particles work better than Voiture Lumiere, so my movement will be more efficient if I tune it right. Why didn't I think of this before?"

A massive beam came down from above, and the three split up to avoid it.

"What the heck was that!?"

"Azrael-kun, behind you!"

Azrael shot around, just in time to block a blade from a Susanowo.

"Oh you are kidding me!"

Azrael shot back and dodged the slashes, his opponent going into Trans AM.

"So you wanna play that way huh? Alright then! Rage on Frontier! Trans AM!"

Azrael shot off with a bright stream of particles following him as he and his opponent traded blows.

"I'm moving too far off from Sei-kun and Mao-kun… this is problematic… Just back off already!"

Azrael shoved his opponent back and fired off a shot, blowing them away immediately, and he disengaged Tran AM.

"Haro, tell me when Trans AM is ready again."

"Alert! Alert!"

Azrael dodged some incoming debris from wrecked machines.

"Wrecked Gunpla? And so many! Who pulled that off?"

"Enemy detected! Enemy detected!"

Azrael followed Haro's signal through the wreckage, most of it just the setting, but some of it Gunpla.

"Talk about efficient… those transparent fangs must come in handy…"

When the sounds of a couple explosions rung out, Azrael shot through the into the open space, and he smirked a bit,

"Looks like a found you."

Not far above Azrael, the Reborns Gundam floated in a single place, and the machine turned towards him, and Lunaria's eyes widened.

"How did he find me? Why now? I don't want to fight him…"

It was almost odd for the girl. Over the past days, any opportunity she'd gotten to go out had been spent finding Azrael in the city to learn more about him. And… he was too kind, too good a person. She didn't want to fight someone like that, who put their heart and soul into something like this no matter how silly, and all because he was being himself.

"What are you doing Lunaria? This is your chance to take him out of the tournament!"

"Y-yes sir… Fangs, fly!"

Azrael caught a hint of the GN fangs from the brief burst of particles.

"Haro, track them from the particle emissions and send the sword bits after them… I've got the main mobile suit."

"Roger that! Roger that!"

"Let's see what you've got."

Azrael readied his blades, and the fight was on.


End file.
